Firelight and Shadows
by V. Shalyr
Summary: They met on one of Natsu's solo jobs. Perhaps it would be too cliché to say their lives were changed forever, but it was true. Because if anyone had the power to change the course of destiny, it would be this Dragon Slayer and the immortal dark wizard he can't seem to let go. NatsuxZeraf
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Summary**: They first met on one of Natsu's solo jobs. Perhaps it would be too cliché to say their lives were changed forever, but it was true. Because if anyone had the power to change the course of destiny, it would be this Dragon Slayer and the immortal dark wizard he can't seem to let go.

**Pairing(s)**: Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf

**WARNINGS: Slight AU ,** **Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

**Author's Notes**: It seems I have an unfortunate tendency to become intrigued by characters who are given very minimal screen time.

* * *

**Firelight and Shadows**

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

**Scroll I: The Beginning**

**First Meetings **

It had been on one of his solo missions.

The job had seemed straightforward and normal enough at first. Some Dark Guild had been causing trouble for a small village up in the mountains and the citizens had asked Fairy Tail for help. It had been awhile since he'd gotten any jobs that promised a good fight, and Natsu Dragneal had leapt at the chance.

When he arrived in the village, however, he'd been gravely disappointed. Whichever Dark Guild had its eyes on the place, it hadn't sent any of its more powerful members. From what the Dragon Slayer had been able to gather, it seemed the flunkies had been told to come to the village to search for someone. They wouldn't tell him who that someone was. Whoever their masters were, those wizards were far more afraid of them than of Natsu—which made sense in a way. Sure, the Fire Dragon Slayer was violent, but the worst he'd do was seriously beat them up. A man could suffer far worse fates than that.

So Natsu had been left to collect his payment and wonder about just who it was the Dark Guild had been after. That was when he'd heard the story.

"_They say there's been a strange young man wandering these parts." _

"_Strange? How so?" _

"_It seems that everything around him is always dying. He can kill a man just by being close to him." _

"_You've got to be kidding. Really?" _

"_That's what I've heard. Even if you are a powerful wizard, if you see someone wandering around out there alone, you'd better keep your distance." _

Of course Natsu had gone to investigate. How could he not?

And what he'd found... Well, what he'd found had been the shadow of an ancient legend.

The other boy had, like this mission, seemed normal enough at first. He'd been sleeping beneath a tree, his dark bangs obscuring half his face. Normally, Natsu would have run over to ask him who he was, butt instinct warned him to be cautious. There was something about the boy that was not quite right.

"_Hey, you. You asleep?" _

_Eyelids fluttered open to reveal black eyes full of consternation as the stranger staggered to his feet and backed away from him. "Please go away. You have to stay away from me or I'm afraid that something terrible will happen." _

"_Are you the one that Dark Guild was looking for?" _

_The boy didn't answer. Instead, his body jerked and he gasped, his eyes going wide as the pupils contracted, and he seemed to struggle with himself even as a dark aura unraveled about his body. _

"_Get away!" _

_Natsu was already moving even before his shout, dodging backward—but not quite fast or far enough. He hadn't expected the darkness to move so quickly, and he was soon enveloped by the peculiar, smoky magic. Even as he watched in shock, the trees around them began to die and the grass shriveled beneath their feet. So that villager's story had been true. But when the black fog finally receded, Natsu still felt fine. _

_The stranger looked at him, apparently just as surprised as Natsu was bewildered. _

"_You're... alive." _

"_What was that all about?" _

_The dark-haired boy sank back to the ground staring at Natsu, now surrounded by withered leaves and dead grass. Instead of answering the question, he asked one of his own. "Are you... a Dragon Slayer?" _

"_So what if I am?" _

"_Then maybe you can do it." _

"_Do what?" _

"_Kill me." He said the words so calmly that it took a moment for their meaning to sink in. _

"_The hell?" Natsu demanded, bristling. This guy was just taking weird to a whole new level. "Listen, you, you've got a lot of explaining to do. Why would I kill you? And what was all that black mist about?" _

"_I can't stop it. My magic. It takes the lives of everything around me. There must be some powerful protection magic on you from your dragon. Dragon magic is one of the only ways to counter it." _

"_How do you know about dragon magic? Who are you anyway?" _

"_I'd rather not say." _

_Natsu growled, stalking up to the stranger and grabbing him by the collar of his robes. "Just answer me, damn it. I have a feeling you're the one those wizards were looking for, and I want to know why." _

_Well, he had a pretty good guess at why with the display of power just a moment ago, but still. _

"_They want my power," the other had said at last, making no move to free himself from the Dragon Slayer's hold. Instead, he simply stared up at him, his dark eyes solemn and unhappy. "That's what people always want, but I'm not going to give it to them. I've done enough. In this era, I'm not going to do anything." _

In the end, the Black Wizard hadn't told Natsu his name. The Dragon Slayer had only found out because it turned out that not all of the Dark Guild members had left.

"_My lord, I don't understand why you refuse to come with us." _

"_I have no interest in helping you or anyone else. I thought I told you to leave." _

"_But you're the great Black Wizard, aren't you?" _

"_That was a long time ago. Stop bothering the village and leave. If you don't, I might get angry, and then I won't be able to stop myself from killing you." _

The Dragon Slayer had been shocked to say the least.

"_You're Zeraf? But how is that possible? You're supposed to be dead. I mean, it's been hundreds of years, hasn't it?" _

"_Four hundred," the wizard agreed, the scowl slipping from his face once again now that the Dark Guild representative had fled and they were alone once more. Pulling the folds of his clothes tighter about himself, he turned and started to walk away. _

"_Hey where are you going?" _

"_I've been here too long. People are starting to notice me. I need to find somewhere where I will be alone." _

And Natsu had watched him go because he couldn't think of a logical reason to call him back. Yet he couldn't help but be curious. He'd never thought that much about what kind of person the notorious Black Wizard Zeraf would be, but if he had given it any thought, he was pretty sure it wouldn't have been anything like this mysterious, rather depressed looking boy.

.

**Black **

The entire way back to the inn where he was staying, Natsu couldn't get the dark-haired wizard out of his head. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what the Black Wizard had done in the past and all the terrible monsters that he'd created, but still, the image lingered in his mind of the strange boy wandering around alone out there in the dark. He wasn't like any evil wizard Natsu had ever met, and he'd met quite a few in his time as a Fairy Tail wizard.

The Dragon Slayer had always been curious, and this boy who answered to the name of the world's most infamous dark wizard had piqued his curiosity. He wanted to know why he was here. He wanted to know who he was, not just his name and his reputation.

"What happened to your scarf, young man?" the innkeeper asked as he entered.

"Huh?" Natsu looked down and finally noticed that his formerly white scarf had turned an inky shade of black. He stared, gaped, then scowled. Why that—! This scarf was a gift from the dragon who had raised him, a dragon that he considered his father!

Well, that was as good a reason as any to go back.

Locating the wizard was easy, All Natsu had to do was track his scent. The faint but distinct trail led him far into the woods away from the village and finally to the side of a small stream. He spotted the person he was looking for sitting by the water, his dark clothes and hair making him blend in with the shadows.

"Hey!"

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**The True Story **

If someone had chanced to pass by the stream at that moment and realize who they were, the two wizards would probably have painted quite a peculiar picture. Zeraf was still sitting where he had been when Natsu had found him, and the Dragon Slayer had found a seat on a boulder beside him, glancing down at the mop of black hair.

Natsu had been mad about his scarf turning black, but then Zeraf had been so sorry about it that he just hadn't had the heart to stay angry with him. And, well, it was sort of nice to know that even now, Igneal was looking out for him. Not that Natsu had ever doubted it.

"So why are you still here? And what was it that happened back there with your magic? I thought you were supposed to be a master of the dark arts or something."

And Natsu was pretty sure masters of the dark arts weren't supposed to lose control of their magic that way.

Getting the whole story out of the Black Wizard was a feat in itself. The guy obviously had no people skills. Half the time, he seemed to be lost in his own head. Of course, not that he'd had much chance to improve. First, the dark wizard had been too busy making monsters and destroying things to care. Now that he had learned to care, most of the people he ran into on accident he either ran away from or dropped dead before he could get in any practice.

That was sort of... depressing, actually. Depressing and ironic.

It was no wonder that the wizard had convinced himself that the world would never accept him, quite aside from his rather long and shadowed history.

Zeraf had turned his gaze on the water of the stream, and Natsu took the chance to examine his face. As far as he could sense, the wizard was being sincere. At least Natsu believed him, and the Dragon Slayer usually had pretty good instincts when it came to people.

Which meant there was really only one thing to do.

.

**Names **

Happy hadn't gone with him on that job because Lucy had needed the flying cat's help with one of her own projects, and Natsu was very glad for that. It meant he didn't need to explain his decisions to anyone.

"Travel with me," he said. "We can take the long way back to Magnolia. There's quite a bit of wilderness around the city. We'll find somewhere for you to stay."

Zeraf looked startled. "But—a city—I can't..."

Natsu rested a hand on Zeraf's shoulder, ignoring how the dark wizard flinched at the touch. "Hey, calm down. We'll find a way around it. And I didn't say you had to stay _in_ the city. Maybe we can find a cave, or build something. Besides, it wouldn't be very responsible of me to let you go on wandering about the kingdom by yourself."

This reasoning made Zeraf pause. "Oh, I see."

Natsu chose to interpret this as agreement and continued. "Hmmm, I can't call you Zeraf. If someone overhears, that would be bad. So what about just Z?"

And that was the start of it all really, a spur of the moment decision that set a lot more into motion than either of them could have predicted.

.

**Living **

"All right, Z, listen up."

Zeraf blinked, pulling his thoughts back to the present and looking up at Natsu who had come to stand in front of him with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face.

"If you really are sorry about everything that you did, then you should spend the rest of your life doing something more helpful with yourself. I don't want to hear any more about dying or me getting strong enough to kill you. Dying isn't going to solve anyone's problems, and it certainly isn't helpful."

The dark-haired wizard glanced pointedly up at the dead branches of the tree above his head.

"Yeah, about that," Natsu coughed. "We're going to have to work on that. I've got a few ideas. But before we get to that, I want you to promise that you'll take all this seriously. Living is serious business."

Living.

Zeraf looked down at his hands then back up at the Dragon Slayer's intent gaze. Quite honestly, he hadn't given "living" much thought in... Well, in centuries. Had he ever really cared that much about living? He certainly hadn't cared that much about life back then. And he had certainly never entertained the idea of possibly being able to live like a normal person.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

Meeting the Slayer's unwavering gaze once more, Zeraf asked, "Do you believe... that it's actually possible?"

Was it actually possible for someone like him to live peacefully in this world? Could he really learn to live like everyone else? Was there really a place in this kingdom for him?

The rest of these questions went unsaid, but they hung heavily in the air between them. Natsu's eyes softened. They had only been together for a few days, but he was quickly learning how to read him. The quiet and mostly calm dark wizard had a complicated history to be sure, but there was a certain simplicity to him too—as a person. And he _was_ a person. No matter how powerful he was or how long he had lived, the Black Wizard Zeraf was still a human being.

"Of course it's possible," Natsu answered him, a confident grin breaking across his face. "And we're going to make it happen."

.

**Warmth **

"What's this?"

Natsu grinned, pushing the bowl into his hands and handing him a spoon. "The town back there is famous for its vegetable stew. I got two bowls for each of us, so dig in."

Zeraf stared down at the still steaming soup. In all honesty, he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten anything. He was immortal. He didn't really need to eat to keep himself alive and really, eating hadn't been high on his list of priorities. If his miserable existence could have been ended by something as simple as starvation, he would have gladly let it.

"You should eat it," Natsu said, perhaps guessing at his thoughts. "It's really good, and I'm sure it'll help keep your mind off—you know, things that might trigger your magic. After all, I think about food all the time."

The wizard said nothing for a long moment, not quite able to believe the Slayer's proposal. Using food as a distraction from thoughts about life and death and the past... Leave it to Natsu to come up with a solution like this. Frankly, Zeraf had a hard time believing that it would work, but he had nothing to lose by giving it a try.

The stew really was very good. And for the first time in decades, the Black Wizard found a bit of warmth creeping back into his body—and perhaps also into his soul.

.

**Balance **

"Maybe I'm not the best one to talk about this, but you really need to work on your anger management. I mean, I get pretty angry about a lot of things too. But when I get angry, I just yell a lot, destroy things and hit people. When you get angry, people die."

Zeraf looked around them at their now deceased assailants. He couldn't stir up any remorse for their deaths though, however much he felt that maybe he ought to. These weren't innocent people. They had blood on their hands, not as much as stained his own but blood nonetheless.

"They deserved to be punished for their crimes."

Natsu sighed, running a hand through his already ruffled hair. He'd heard about the rather vicious group of bandits living around these parts in the last town they'd passed through, but he hadn't thought they'd actually attack them. Perhaps they should have taken a different road, not that they'd had many choices. Still, if they had, perhaps they could have avoided this whole mess.

"Yes, I know. But that's what the law is for, and deserving to be punished isn't always the same as deserving to die, and... Argh, how can I put this? It's not about whether or not they should be punished. It's about you and not being the evil, dark wizard anymore."

The red faded from Zeraf's eyes and he turned to look at him. He'd never thought of it that way before.

"So just leave the getting angry part to me from now on, all right? I'll make sure the bad guys get what they deserve, and you just work on staying calm."

After that, Natsu borrowed some shovels from a nearby farm and, after some hesitation, Zeraf helped him burry the bandits who hadn't gotten away.

.

**Power **

Zeraf knew what it meant to have power. No one would dispute the fact that he was a very powerful wizard, and almost everyone had feared him for it. He could destroy countries—and had done just about as much. He could walk through the most dangerous of battlefields and come out unscathed without actively having to lift a finger. And now that people knew he was awake and around, it seemed like everyone who knew was after him for his magic, seeing him either as a great asset or a grave threat.

So yes, Zeraf knew what power was. But he'd never encountered power quite like that of his new traveling companion.

Certainly, the Dragon Slayer was a powerful wizard in his own right. But he harbored a different kind of power as well, one that Zeraf had never imagined before.

It was just so easy for people to place their trust in him, even people who had only known him for a brief time, to trust that he could conquer the impossible. He had such faith and strength in his own beliefs; that was something that Zeraf himself had never had. And he'd been alive long enough to realize that in the end, that was the only kind of power that mattered. The only kind of power that lasted, as bright and as necessary to life as the sun.

In comparison, Zeraf was but a shadow, a ghost left over from a time in history that had left its scars upon both the earth and the people who lived upon it. And he gladly let the light wash over him, finally starting to chase away some of the demons that haunted him.

.

**Experience **

"I do not think this is a wise decision."

"Nonsense," Natsu said, waving a hand dismissively. "You're never going to fit in if you don't get more experience when it comes to interacting with other people. There's a seafood grill in this town that I want to try that doesn't do takeout. It's a perfect opportunity for you to get some practice. And it's close to the edge of town, so I can get us both out of there in a hurry if need be."

Zeraf still looked doubtful, but he'd learned quickly that once Natsu got an idea into his head, it was futile to try and change it. So instead of trying to argue further, he pulled up the hood of the plain brown cloak Natsu had gotten him—because black suited him, but brown made him stand out less—and tried not to think too hard about anything.

For the most part, the people they passed on the street didn't give them a second glance. So maybe the cloaked one looked a bit shifty and the wild-haired one had a mad grin on his face, but you got all sorts of strange people in these parts. They were simply two more.

Zeraf took in all the bustle mixed with the noise of chatter and the pungent aromas of food, and it was hard not to feel just a little overwhelmed. It had been so long since he'd been in a town that the last time seemed like a distant dream. Not to mention that these settlements had all changed quite a great deal over the past four hundred years. Mostly, they'd grown tremendously in size and population.

Zeraf halted in his steps as several children dashed out into the street, cutting in front of him.

"Hey! I want to play too!"

"But you can't. Someone needs to be the demon."

"I don't want to be a demon. I want to be a wizard!"

Zeraf watched the smallest child stamp his foot, angry tears springing to the boy's eyes. He looked from the crying boy to the other children, frowning but unsure what to do. He was saved from having to do anything by Natsu who had noticed him missing and doubled back. The Dragon Slayer crouched so that he and the children were at eye level.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

The boy sniffled. "I don't want to be a demon. I want to be a wizard."

Natsu smiled. "That's great. Being a wizard's awesome."

The other children gathered around them, wide-eyed.

"Are you a wizard, sir?"

"Sure am! In fact, I'm a member of Fairy Tail."

Gasps of surprise and excitement greeted this announcement.

"When I grow up, I'm going to join a guild too, and it's going to be just as amazing as Fairy Tail," one of the other children declared.

"Yeah? That's cool. But you should know that a guild is like a family. And your guild will never be strong if you don't take care of everyone in your family."

The Slayer looked pointedly between the previously arguing boys and they looked down at their feet.

"I'm sorry."

"I—I guess it's all right."

"Um... maybe we can go on a treasure hunt instead. Then no one has to be a demon."

Natsu waited until the children had said their goodbyes and run off before turning to Zeraf. "Ready to go?"

.

**Family **

The seafood grill in question turned out to be a moderately sized shop near the outskirts of the town. They sat at one of the smaller tables near the door and Natsu cheerfully ordered one of everything on the menu.

"So Fairy Tail is like your family?"

Natsu polished off the dish he was working on and put it atop the quickly rising stack of other empty plates. "Yeah, you could say that. Some of them drive me crazy and we get into fights all the time, but we always pull together when it matters. When we all work together, we're unbeatable."

The black-haired wizard just nodded, examining a piece of something marinated in an unidentifiable sauce before eating it. Once upon a time, he'd regarded such confidence as idealistic and foolish. But he couldn't deny that he'd seen people accomplish some incredible things together over the years, things that no one would ever have been able to accomplish on their own. Then again, these amazing feats tended to revolve around a few individuals who kept everyone together and striving for a better future.

One thing was for certain. Human beings were very complicated creatures.

"So how is it?"

Snapped out of his contemplations, Zeraf looked up in confusion.

Natsu jabbed a fork at his half full plate. "The food, what do you think?"

"I'm... not sure."

When the wizard just looked back down at his plate, the Slayer shook his head. "You know, you think too much sometimes."

.

**Proof **

"Are you the wizard from Fairy Tail?"

The woman who interrupted their meal was dressed in an elaborate, trailing gown in shades of emerald and gold. The sunlight falling through the window shone on her auburn curls and picked out the anxious frown on her face.

"Maybe. Why?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" She clasped her hands before her and gave Natsu a pleading look. "My friend bought this book at an antique shop and it's done something to him. I got Sara—she's a wizard who lives around here—to look at him, but she's never seen anything like it. We don't know what to do."

Interest piqued, the Dragon Slayer polished off the remainder of the food and stood up. "So exactly what happened?"

What happened was that her friend had gotten her a mysterious book from an antique shop for her birthday, knowing how much she loved strange and foreign things. Only when both their hands had touched the book, he had been turned to stone.

Natsu scratched the back of his head, examining the statue from all sides. It was... well, incredibly lifelike for obvious reasons. This wasn't really his area of expertise, but he wasn't one to give up either, especially not after he'd already promised his help.

"I believe that it's a curse," Sara told him, showing him the book that lay at the heart of their current predicament. "I'm not sure why it activated when it did, but I did find the runes of the spell hidden amidst some of the text in the back. I've done some curse breaking before, but this language, it's been centuries since it was used. If we only had someone who could read it, I might be able to solve the problem."

"Centuries, huh?" Natsu smirked, holding out his hand. "Can I borrow that book for a moment?"

Once the book was in his hands, Natsu opened the door of Sara's cottage and poked his head outside to look for his companion. "Hey, Z, come over here for a moment, will you?"

The Black Wizard had opted to stay outside while Natsu dealt with the woman's request, taking a seat beneath one of the trees in the garden. At the Dragon Slayer's call, he rose and made his way over, albeit with some reluctance to be so close to the people inside.

"Can you read this?" Natsu asked, showing him the spell runes in question.

Zeraf glanced over the writing and nodded.

"That's great. Hey Sara," Natsu said, turning to wave the other wizard over. "This is Z, a friend of mine. He's great with ancient languages and he knows quite a lot about magic too. If the two of you work together, I'm sure you can come up with a way to break that curse."

The announcement made Zeraf a little uneasy, but he didn't argue. Since he didn't want to go inside, the small group relocated to the gardens where he patiently explained the runes to Sara, who took copious notes in a small, worn notebook. Natsu seemed content just to watch from the sidelines, ready to move if the need arose. Eventually, a few lines of writing were carefully set down upon another blank page and everyone stood back as Sara read it out loud.

A soft glow surrounded the frozen man like a fuzzy, golden mist. It faded to leave him blinking in confusion as the auburn-haired woman ran to embrace him, giddy with relief at not having lost him.

Before any explanations or thanks could be given, a look of panic flashed across Zeraf's face and Natsu reacted immediately. He bid the three farewell, wished them luck, made some excuses, then grabbed the dark wizard and dashed for the woods.

It was a little sad that a few trees had to be sacrificed for everyone else's safety, Natsu reflected, but it was necessary.

When the fog of darkness finally receded, Natsu grinned at the wizard next to him. "See? I told you. You're already being more helpful alive than you would be dead."

.

**Haven **

What had been a two-week long journey turned into three months with numerous detours and small ventures on the side. Natsu didn't mind. The extra time was exactly what he'd needed to get his new friend settled and comfortable with their strange arrangement. They'd learned quite a lot about each other in that time, and even if he'd have a lot of excuses to make when he reported back at the guild, Natsu was pleased with their progress.

They found the caves somewhat by accident while wandering through the woods. The mouth was well hidden amidst several boulders, a seemingly narrow crevice that opened out into a spacious cavern linked to another, smaller chamber. Nothing lived in these caves and so there was nothing for his magic to accidentally kill. In other words, as Natsu put it, it was perfect.

They found the necessary furnishings in various shops across the city. It didn't really take all that much to make the place livable. Well, livable by Natsu's standards. Zeraf was perfectly comfortable just sleeping on the ground as he had been doing on his wanderings, but Natsu was stubborn. And in order to be "home", the place had to be more than a bare, empty cave. Seeing as the dark wizard had no personal belongings, they had to find other things to make the place feel lived in.

That added another two weeks to Natsu's time of absence so he and Zeraf could visit the shops in some of the nearby settlements. Magnolia had those shops too, of course, but Natsu didn't want to risk someone recognizing him just yet. Aside from the basics like blankets and something to sleep on, they ended up buying several dozen books ranging from philosophical essays to lighthearted works of fiction.

When all that was done and Natsu couldn't put off returning to the guild any longer, the Slayer brought them to a small restaurant in a part of the city he didn't visit as often and ordered them each a couple of the chef's recommendations.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking sidelong at the dark wizard seated beside him. Zeraf hadn't said a word all evening.

The other wizard took his time to answer. "It simply feels strange to think that I won't be traveling for awhile. It's been a very long journey."

Longer than most people could possibly imagine.

"It's about time you had a rest then." Natsu smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder, pleased to note that Zeraf no longer flinched away from him. "Welcome to Magnolia, home to the best wizard guild in the world, Fairy Tail."

* * *

**TBC... **

* * *

**. **


	2. Connection

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Pairing(s)**: Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf

**WARNINGS: Slight AU ,** **Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

* * *

**Firelight and Shadows**

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

**Scroll II: Connection **

**Changes **

Happy was the first to ask the question. "Natsu, why is your scarf black?"

"Oh, this?" The Slayer shrugged. "I just had a run in with some strange magic and it got turned black. Don't worry about it."

"Strange magic?" the cat repeated, curious. But Natsu had already moved on, looking gleeful as he dug into his meal.

Lucy was the second person to ask him about it with a puzzled and worried frown. Natsu just laughed and gave her the same explanation he had given the winged cat.

By the end of his first day back at the guild, Natsu was starting to lose his patience. For heaven's sake, as long as Natsu wasn't upset by it, what did it matter to them what color his scarf was now?

One giant brawl and a few broken pieces of furniture later, the question was never brought up again.

.

**Different **

"Natsu's acting a little strange these days," Happy confessed to Lucy one afternoon.

"Is he? He seems pretty normal to me." Although she had seen him around her apartment less than before.

The winged cat landed on the table beside her open book. "He's always going off somewhere by himself. I tried to follow him once, but he was just moving too fast."

"Huh," the Celestial Wizard tapped the page thoughtfully with the end of her pen. "Technically, Natsu's always rushing off to places."

"But why doesn't he take me with him?" Happy wailed. "I always used to go everywhere with him! Did I do something wrong? Why is he always leaving me behind now?"

"Hey, I'm sure it's nothing like that," Lucy hurried to reassure the distressed animal. Casting around for something to distract him, she went to the kitchen to retrieve one of the fish she'd bought at the marketplace earlier. Ever since she'd joined up with Fairy Tail, it seemed fish had become a permanent item on her grocery list. "Here."

The cat cheered up the moment his eyes alighted upon the offered treat. Resting her elbow on her desk, Lucy put her chin in her hand as she considered Happy's words again. Perhaps he did have a point. It wasn't anything obvious, but now that she was looking for them, there had been moments over the past few weeks where the Dragon Slayer had seemed oddly distracted. She'd have to ask Natsu about it sometime.

.

**Recommendations **

"You want me to recommend some books?" Lucy repeated, not sure if she'd heard him correctly.

Natsu shrugged off her incredulity. "Yeah, I wanted to get some books for a friend of mine."

"Oh." The Celestial Wizard smiled a little at that. "Well, in that case, do you know what kinds of books this person likes?"

"Anything you think is good will be perfect," Natsu said then added as an afterthought, "but nothing with too much blood or violence. Good stories—stories about good people. Fiction is great, but true stories might be even better."

Interesting requirements.

The wheels turning in her head, Lucy nodded and turned to look over the bookstore's many neatly lined shelves. She loved recommending books almost as much as she loved to read them and she was glad to help, but it did get her thinking. What with the things Happy had told her and her own observations of her friend's behavior... He _had_ been going off a lot by himself lately. There were noticeably fewer fights around the guild because of it. And his mind often seemed to be elsewhere.

_Huh_.

"Natsu... do you have a girlfriend?"

Natsu choked, coughed, spluttered, then laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up straight.

Lucy blushed then scowled and smacked him upside the head. Grumbling about boys in general and Natsu in particular, she stomped off amongst the bookshelves to find the books that Natsu wanted. Although she couldn't help but notice that the Dragon Slayer had never answered her question either way.

He really was being way too secretive.

.

**Scent **

To a Dragon Slayer's heightened senses, everyone had their own unique scent. Only recently, Natsu had started noticing that his quiet friend had a scent he couldn't help but find appealing. It was both exciting and calming at the same time.

Natsu stood in the entryway of the cave, contemplating the scene before him. Zeraf had fallen asleep sitting on the ground beside the makeshift fireplace with his back against the wall. He slept a lot, and Natsu had told him as much once, but the wizard wasn't bothered. He had no real hobbies as of yet and zero ambition left to speak of. He liked to listen to Natsu talk about his life, the people he'd met and the things he'd done. Natsu suspected that he probably liked studying magic too; he had to have had a certain passion for it to have gotten as good at it as he was. But for the most part when he was alone, the wizard simply thought, slept, and read.

Briefly, Natsu entertained the idea of waking him. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have hesitated. But there was something peaceful and content about the current atmosphere, and he found himself reluctant to risk spoiling it. So instead, the Dragon Slayer padded across the cavern floor on silent feet and sat down beside him, picking up the book Zeraf had been reading—it was still open—and starting to leaf through it.

He could wait for the other boy to wake up.

.

**Shadow **

"I can't shake the feeling that we're being followed."

Lucy looked away from their campfire to Gray. The Ice Wizard's gaze swept the trees around the clearing, trying and failing to find anything out of the ordinary.

Erza frowned a little, glancing at Natsu. "There does seem to be something odd on the wind. Do you smell anything?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged. "Nothing unusual. You're probably just imagining things. So what was this job about again?"

"The client wanted to discuss the details in person," Erza explained after a short, suspicious pause. "But the reward is quite substantial. I understand that he's the son of a very wealthy merchant."

"A very wealthy merchant, huh?" Lucy sighed, holding her hand out towards the warmth of the flames. "I wonder if I've heard of him."

While the two young women discussed the merchant families in the area in question, Natsu lay back and folded his arms behind his head as he looked up at the stars, not really seeing them. Zeraf was following them, close enough so that Natsu could catch his scent on the breeze but far enough away so as not to be discovered. Natsu was glad the Black Wizard had come along after all. He hadn't seemed keen on the idea when Natsu had proposed it, but it appeared that he'd changed his mind. That, or he'd decided after the team set out that he really didn't want to stay behind alone.

The Slayer grinned and shut his eyes, prepared to take a nap now that the matter of their possible shadow had been dropped. Hopefully, this job would be sufficiently entertaining.

.

**Moonstruck **

Whatever else the merchant's son was, Natsu decided, he was obviously obsessed. Or was it in love? The two often seemed rather similar.

Nathaniel Simren welcomed them in his private drawing room secluded from the rest of his family and the bulk of his staff. Despite all the fancy decorations and expensive furnishings, all eyes were immediately drawn to one thing when their owners walked in—a massive painting on the wall of a dark-haired young woman and Nathaniel himself.

"Time is of the essence, so I won't beat around the bush," their client said the moment they were seated. "My beloved Angelica is being forced to marry by her father. We've been in love ever since we first met, "he sighed dramatically, "but alas, her father and mine are major business rivals and he absolutely refuses to let me have her hand. He's throwing a ball for her in three days and he's going to make her choose a husband from amongst the attendees."

"You want us to get her out," Erza concluded.

Nathaniel coughed. "Well actually, I was hoping you could help get me in. I want to make sure Angelica feels the same before we cut ties with her family, and we need to make sure her father won't send people after us. Oh, and did I mention that he likes to employ wizards on his staff?"

Gray frowned. "This isn't really the sort of thing we usually handle."

.

**Serious**

"That was the weirdest job we've ever done," Natsu grumbled. "Feels like we were playing a part in some romantic comedy. I mean, seriously?"

"Emotions such as love and hatred can drive people to do many things."

"Yeah, yeah, but it was a damned boring job if you ask me." Natsu sighed and proceeded to tear into one of the sandwiches he'd brought with him. "At least we got paid."

"Ah."

Zeraf sat next to him on the bank of the stream, one of the books Lucy had recommended open in his lap. When no other words were forthcoming, Natsu fell to watching him out of the corner of his eye, somewhat amused by how soft the dark wizard's features were when he wasn't angry. Natsu liked that look. It was just another incongruity between the Zeraf he knew and the image of him that history had created. Unfortunately, pictures created by history were often not that easy to remake.

"Hey, Z, what would you say to taking on a job together? It would be a bit like when we were traveling here."

This made Zeraf pause and look up. "A... job?"

He managed to lace the two simple words with so much trepidation that Natsu burst out laughing.

"Don't worry. Most of them don't turn out like that last one. I usually prefer missions where we get to beat up some Dark Guild or other."

The Black Wizard gave him a _look_.

"Oh, right," Natsu said, amending his earlier statement. "Maybe not one of those. But I'm sure we can find something that works for us."

.

**Reflection **

"Natsu's gone?"

"He went on a job."

"Without us?" Lucy asked, unable to hide her surprise. Of course they didn't always go on jobs together, but it had become the norm these days for them to do so.

Happy nodded. He might have been inclined to complain except he was too engrossed in the massive tuna Natsu had gotten for him before his departure. Eating fish beat going on a mission any day.

"What kind of request was it?"

The winged cat halted long enough to think back and come up with the right answer. "He took a curse breaking job. Something about some old ruins somewhere. I forget the details, but I think some villagers got caught up in it and haven't been seen in a week. Hopefully, they can still be rescued."

Lucy shook her head, leaving the guild house and making her way down the street towards one of her favorite coffee shops. It was nice to have a break to work on her novel, but Natsu on a curse breaking job? That wasn't like his usual choices for solo missions. Usually, Natsu Dragneal liked jobs where he got to fight people and break things.

"A coin for your thoughts?"

"Oh, hi Loke," she responded, glancing at the man now walking beside her. "What's with the hat?"

The celestial spirit coughed and looked away. He had a hat pulled low over his face and his usual sunglasses were missing. "I just wanted to spend some quality time with my beautiful lady wizard."

Lucy blushed and quickly averted her gaze. "So you're hiding from all your adoring fans."

"My dear Lucy. No woman in the world could compare to you. You're the only one for me."

Lucy chose to ignore this. She'd had her share of romantic fantasies, but Loke could really overdo things sometimes. If she let herself, she'd spend all day feeling embarrassed.

"Loke."

"Okay, okay." Slinging an arm around her shoulders, Loke let his expression become something more serious. "You've been distracted lately. Is there any way I can help? You know I'm always here for you."

Leaning slightly into him, Lucy sighed. "I know. Thanks."

"Anytime. So?"

She considered his question. In truth, there wasn't really anything bothering her. Had she been distracted lately? Perhaps she was thinking too much. A break was a break. She should enjoy the peace while it lasted. God knew peace wasn't easy to come by as a Fairy Tail wizard.

She smiled. "How would you like to have lunch with me?"

"It would be my honor."

And his genuine smile made her heart flutter.

Sometimes, it took a little longer for people to connect, but that was okay. Good things took time.

.

**Stars **

Natsu had excellent night vision and they were trying not to be noticed, so after dinner had been cooked and eaten, they let their campfire die and simply lay looking up at the tiny lights sprinkled across the night sky. When he was little after Igneal had left, Natsu used to look up at the sky and hope to see dragons. Now, he simply looked up at the sky and allowed himself to wonder just for a moment if there were really still dragons out there.

"Do all the stars look the same? As they did back then, I mean."

"If they have changed, I cannot tell the difference."

Folding his arms behind his head, Natsu hummed thoughtfully. "What was it like back then—when there were dragons?"

Zeraf pondered the question. Normally, he didn't like to think about "back then". Butt these days, it didn't trouble him as much to remember. He still spent a lot of time by himself, but he wasn't _alone_. It was a pleasant change and he wondered idly if this was what happiness felt like. It had been so long.

"I suppose it depends on who you were. There were good dragons and evil ones, just as there are good and evil humans. Many amazing kinds of magic were created in that time, several of which are lost now. The first Dragon Slayers were trained by dragons who wanted to live in harmony with mankind, and they were trained to slay the dragons who saw humans as little more than prey. It was a time of great spells and greater battles. I would say that life was harder then than it is now, but to be honest, I've come to the conclusion that life is quite difficult no matter what era you live it in."

"Still so pessimistic, I see."

"I prefer to think of it as realistic."

Natsu chuckled and smirked. "Good thing I'm more of an idealist then."

There was another long stretch of comfortable silence, then, "Do you ever miss it?"

Zeraf closed his eyes, relaxed with the quiet of the forest around them and the presence of the Dragon Slayer beside him. "No, I can't say that I ever do."

.

**Attack **

Screams and yells of surprise and pain filled the air as the wild-haired stranger crashed through the front doors of the guild. Fairy Tail was a famous guild and it wasn't the first time a powerful wizard had come looking for them with ill intentions. Gajeel himself, although now a member, was proof enough of that. But this new adversary was different. Power crackled in the air around him, visible flashes of energy that reminded onlookers very much of lightning. It caught in his pale hair and sparked in his eyes, making him look more than a little crazed. That was a good description for his arrival too, crazed and chaotic and violent.

"Who are you and why have you attacked Fairy Tail?" Erza demanded, raising her sword as she faced him.

"Ah, the famous Erza Scarlet," he replied, grinning a grin that revealed fangs. "I've heard a lot about you. I wonder if you'll live up to your impressive reputation. I've already had the honor of meeting some of your fellow guild mates downtown, but I'm afraid they turned out to be a disappointment."

The red-haired woman's eyes narrowed in anger. "I will not forgive those who endanger this guild. You have one last chance to explain yourself."

Before the man could speak, a flaming figure came crashing into the guild after him.

"You!" Natsu roared, baring his fangs at the intruder. "You're going to pay for hurting Lucy and Levy like that!"

The man only laughed, his wild, white hair making him seem even more insane. "I thought I already told you. I came here to challenge Laxus Dreyar, not some fire-breathing upstart."

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "I dare you to say that again."

.

**Frustration **

Before Erza could muster the strength to excavate Natsu from the rubble, the Dragon Slayer emerged in a cloud of dust and flame.

"Rayja!"

"He's gone, Natsu," Erza said, unfazed by his anger. Her face was grim though she carried herself with her usual stern grace, showing little of the weariness she felt. "He said that he would return in two days. And that if Laxus isn't here, he'll finish what he started."

The Dragon Slayer cursed loudly but let the flames die. For once, he didn't want to cause any more damage to his surroundings than had already been done. As it was, they would be making repairs for days.

.

**Harmony **

Natsu stormed into the refurnished cave and stood in the middle of the living room, fists clenched and glaring at nothing. He hadn't wanted to go back to his apartment, and with Lucy in the hospital with a worried Loke looking after her, he didn't feel right going to her place. He'd just end up fighting with Gray or someone else if he went to the guild, and so he'd gone to the only place he could think of where no one from Fairy Tail would be able to find him.

He needed to be away, if only for a few moments—to have time to think things through and try to calm down after the attack.

"Someone tried to destroy the guild."

It was more of a statement than a question. Natsu didn't turn to look at the wizard now standing in the archway leading into the sleeping quarters.

"Yeah, and it took all of us to stop him." They hadn't really managed to stop him. Rather, the man had chosen to withdraw on his own, amused perhaps by their anger and Natsu's vehemence that he would defeat him. "He said he'd be back."

Just remembering the man's arrogant sneer made his blood boil all over again.

"Lucy and several of the others are in the hospital, and there was nothing I could do. He's a new generation Dragon Slayer like Laxus, but he couldn't possibly manage what that bastard did today. He said something about getting power from another powerful wizard to amplify and enhance the nature of his own magic or something," Natsu continued, scowling. "Whatever that's supposed to mean. But there was definitely something different about his magic. We just couldn't pinpoint what it was. Damn it!"

Zeraf was silent for a long time, deep in thought as he watched the Dragon Slayer fume. He had sworn to himself that he would not ally himself with anyone in this era, that he would not fight anymore or become anyone's enemy. But Natsu... Natsu had become everything to him. The Dragon Slayer had done far more than just rescue him from his loneliness and self-hatred. He'd helped him find some semblance of stability again, given him a reason to keep on living. He'd become the Black Wizard's first real friend, and maybe more. If Zeraf could help him, then he would. After all, he didn't have to fight in order to offer him his assistance. If it was raw power Natsu needed, the legendary dark wizard had more than enough of that.

"Natsu."

That quiet voice speaking his name finally pulled the Slayer from his angry contemplations and he turned sharply to look at him.

"If you want, I can give you the same kind of power that he had."

Natsu opened his mouth then shut it again, torn between surprise and sudden uncertainty. "You know what he was talking about?"

"You said he was a new generation Dragon Slayer, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Then I have an educated guess." Zeraf moved away from the entryway where he'd been standing. "You'll need to start the spell."

"What spell?"

Zeraf retrieved a light pen from the table and began to carefully draw a string of runes upon the air. "This one. You'll have to cast it, and then I'll finish it."

"Hang on a second. What kind of spell is this?"

"You could say that it's a power sharing spell, of a sort. It will create a bond between us that will allow you to draw on my magic. Only Dragon Slayers can use this magic because of their ability to consume other sources of power to gain strength. But we'll have to do this very carefully. My power is very dark, as you know. You will have to learn to control it and convert it into your own kind of fire."

Natsu considered this, studying the other wizard's face. "Okay, so what exactly is supposed to happen?"

This made Zeraf hesitate. "I'm... not entirely sure. I suppose it will depend on you. I assume the spell will let you know how to proceed."

"Would you be all right?"

The dark-haired wizard blinked in slight surprise at the question then nodded cautiously. "Most likely."

"So there's a possibility that you won't be."

"Do you... care for me?"

"Of course I do. We wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Then I will be fine."

Natsu wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. It made the spell they were about to cast sound rather dangerous. Not that he ever shied away from dangerous, but when it came to the people he considered his friends, that was an entirely different matter.

Then again, that was how this entire situation had come up.

Making his decision, Natsu turned to examine the runes still shining upon the air. "So I just read this, right?"

"You read this part," Zeraf clarified, underlining a large majority of the words. "I will read this part with you, and this phrase will just be me."

"And we see what happens." Crossing his arms, Natsu scowled briefly, but more in concentration than discontent. "Right then, here goes."

The strange words felt awkward on his tongue at first, but as he read, they came more and more easily as though he'd known the language all his life. A complex magic circle flared into life about his feet, and as his companion's soft voice joined in, it expanded so that they were both standing within its intricate weave of brilliance. The light bled from gold to red, and they both tensed in surprise when the echoes faded and the surge of power seized them.

Everything after that happened in an odd sort of haze.

Zeraf felt lightheaded as he tried to pull his thoughts together, his mind awash with the numbing tingle of the magic rushing through them. A few steps away, the Dragon Slayer had frozen for a moment then turned towards him, his dark eyes narrowed into sharp, hungry slits that made him think of dragons' eyes. The magic circle beneath their feet continued to grow brighter, and the dark wizard found himself being pushed roughly back against the wall. Claws tore at the collar of his robes and fangs sank deep into a spot near the base of his neck as the Slayer bit down. The black-haired boy gasped. He'd expected that much, but what he hadn't expected was the sudden, intense pain that lanced through the very center of his being. He bit his lip so hard that it bled in an attempt not to scream. It felt like someone was running hot lava through his veins. His knees buckled, and only the Slayer's body pressing his own, slighter frame into the rough stone behind him kept him from sinking to the floor.

And then as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone, leaving Zeraf feeling exhausted and numb. The wash of crimson brilliance around them had bled back into gold, but had not yet completely faded away. As Natsu pulled away, the magic circle contracted, shrinking in around their feet until it finally vanished with a last flicker like firelight.

Natsu could still taste the blood in his mouth and it disturbed him a little that he sort of liked it. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. Are you okay?"

Not quite trusting his voice—his throat and everything else in his body was aching like crazy—Zeraf nodded only to stop when his head spun.

Natsu tightened his hold on him again, his gaze lingering on the bite mark he'd left on the pale, exposed skin. Somehow, Natsu knew that it would scar. The magic would ensure that it did and he felt briefly guilty again before the guilt was overpowered by a nameless sense of satisfaction. Something inside him was very happy about this fact.

Giving his head a hard shake to clear it, Natsu hoisted the semi-conscious wizard into his arms and made his way back into the adjoining cave they'd turned into a bedroom. Zeraf shut his eyes and rested his head against his shoulder. Within moments, his consciousness had slipped away. Laying him down carefully on the bed, the Slayer sat down next to him and watched him sleep—well, he was more unconscious than asleep, but it looked like the same thing.

Natsu could hear his heartbeat, sense the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the hum of the twisted magic that had given the dark wizard immortality. It was like all his senses had been tuned up where Zeraf was concerned, and he couldn't help the sudden, intense possessiveness he felt towards the other boy. He wondered if it had to do with the spell, but deep down, he suspected that those feelings had always been there and the spell had simply brought them to the surface.

Reaching out, Natsu cupped the unconscious wizard's cheek, running his fingers along the ivory skin, unmarked by the passage of time or all the conflicts he'd been through. He could sense his power now too, a dark, chaotic ocean that stirred as Natsu subconsciously reached for it with his mind in the same way he would reach for his own powers. The shadows responded to him, melding with his own magic as he concentrated. He could feel the change in power immediately, the sudden strength that brought a fierce smirk to his face despite himself. Zeraf had warned him that he had to be careful with this new power, but so far, everything seemed to be fine.

"Thanks," he said quietly even though the dark wizard couldn't hear him. He traced the boy's lips with one finger and wondered briefly what they would taste like before shoving the thought away. This wasn't the time for that. Maybe later, when Fairy Tail wasn't in danger and their lives went back to normal, or as normal as they ever got for an immortal dark wizard and a Dragon Slayer.

* * *

**TBC... **

* * *

**. **


	3. Trust

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Pairing(s)**: Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf

**WARNINGS: Slight AU ,** **Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

* * *

**Firelight and Shadows**

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

**Scroll III: Trust **

**Alarm **

"You smell... different," Gajeel said the moment Natsu walked into the guild house, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What did you do?"

The question came out as more of a growl and Natsu found himself growling back in annoyance.

"Nothing, bastard."

The Iron Dragon Slayer glowered. Normally, he and Natsu avoided each other except to fight, but today... Today, something about the other Slayer's scent had changed and it was making the hairs prickle warningly on the back of Gajeel's neck. The sensation felt surprisingly like fear. He didn't like it one bit.

"We need to discuss what to do about Rayja," Erza announced, calling everyone's attention to her. She stood by the bar with her arms folded across her chest, her armor making her already imposing figure even more so. "We've sent word to Master Makarov already, but he won't be able to make it back until next week."

"What about Laxus?" Lucy asked, her voice quiet. She really didn't know the older wizard all that well and he still made her uncomfortable when he was around.

The red-haired wizard's face darkened. "We're having trouble getting in touch with him. Besides, he's not officially a member of Fairy Tail at the moment. It wouldn't be right."

"I'll fight him," Natsu announced, cutting into the grim silence that followed her statement.

Gray frowned. "Natsu, I hate to break it to you, but in case you hadn't noticed, he completely overpowered you yesterday."

The Fire Dragon Slayer smirked. "That was yesterday. Tomorrow will be different."

.

**Challenge **

"So Laxus still isn't here."

"No, he isn't," Natsu said coldly, glaring at the intruder. He'd been waiting outside of the guild's main doors for the white-haired man to arrive. He wouldn't let Rayja set foot inside the building again.

Rayja lifted one hand, energy crackling about his fist. "I guess my message wasn't clear enough last time then. I'd better send another one."

Instead of raging at him, Natsu lifted his own hands, brilliant flames bursting into life as he readied himself for battle. The flickering light cast stark shadows across his face, making his features sharp and fierce. "I'm going to make you regret ever messing with Fairy Tail."

.

**Showdown **

Natsu could feel the difference immediately. It was the same as when he'd eaten some particularly powerful flames, but also a little different. The color of his fire had grown brighter with an undertone of gold—not quite what he'd expected, seeing as Zeraf's magic was black, but hey, when had either of them ever behaved the way other people expected?

It was like the circumstances of their last battle had been reversed.

Natsu's flames tore through his opponent's attacks like they had little more substance than smoke. Caught up in the heat of battle, Natsu had little time to be amazed, but his exhilaration was obvious in his fanged grin. The same couldn't be said for everyone else, however.

_Wow_, Lucy thought, _when did this happen_?

The same thought probably ran through his opponent's mind, except Rayja knew what could have happened.

Barely dodging one of Natsu's attacks, the man wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned, although there was no humor in the expression. "So, it seems that you've gone to some lengths to improve. I didn't think one of the members of the great Fairy Tail would kill for power."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu demanded.

"Oh, so it was with their consent then. Well, in that case, let me share a little secret with you. If the person you created the link with dies, the bulk of their power becomes yours. It's not quite as much as if they were alive, but it also means you've got one less problem to hold you back."

Natsu's face twisted in disgust when it dawned on him what the other man must have done. "You _monster_. And you dare to call yourself a Dragon Slayer? You don't deserve that title!"

And his anger fed the flames, making them burn even brighter as he charged.

It was probably a good thing that his fellow guild wizards were too far away to hear their conversation over the din.

.

**Victory **

"We should probably get him to the hospital."

"Not the hospital," Natsu objected, straightening himself and stepping away from his friends only to stumble. Several paces away, people sent by the council were taking away the unconscious form of his opponent. The man wouldn't be troubling them again.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded, rushing over to help support him. "You're injured. You need to see a healer."

The Slayer brushed off her concern with a slightly silly grin. "I've had worse. Honestly, I'm just tired. And I hate hospitals."

In the end, tired or not, Natsu was still as stubborn as ever. And so instead of going to the hospital, they helped him back to his apartment—which, by the way, Lucy hadn't ever visited before. If he had his own apartment all along, why was he always crashing over at her place? Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite as spacious or nice as her place, but—she shook her head. This wasn't the time. Oh well, she'd stopped really minding her teammates' impromptu visits some time ago.

Briefly, Natsu debated sneaking out to the woods later to check on the dark wizard, but he didn't have the energy. He'd just have to trust that the peacefulness he felt at the back of his mind meant that the other boy was okay. Tired too, but okay. The Slayer himself was so exhausted that he barely registered his friends' cautious questions, congratulations, or curious comments. Eventually, they gave up on getting any answers and just let him sleep, leaving the window ajar to let in a warm breeze.

Later, after he'd gotten some rest, then he could go back to the woods. And amazing though this new power was, he swore to himself silently that he wouldn't use it again unless he had no choice. He wouldn't abuse the privilege. Besides, it really took a lot out of them both.

Natsu fell asleep with a triumphant smirk on his face, exhausted and drained as he was. One thing was for sure. Victory tasted sweet.

.

**Visit **

Zeraf debated with himself for a long time before deciding to brave the streets of Magnolia in order to visit Natsu. The thought of being so close to so many people still filled him with trepidation, but it had been weeks since his Death Magic last acted up and he wanted to make sure that the Dragon Slayer was all right after his battle. He kept his head down and walked quickly, following the connection he and Natsu shared to the apartment where Natsu stayed when he wasn't at their makeshift home in the woods. The front door opened before he had a chance to knock and Natsu motioned him inside with a yawn.

"Sensed you coming," he said by way of explanation, shutting the door behind him.

"How are you doing?"

"Still really tired, but that's it." The fire wizard yawned again, his eyelids drooping. "You're welcome to hang around, but I need to get back to bed."

Zeraf nodded hesitantly, glancing around the cluttered living room. He wasn't sure what to do with himself now that he was here. Helping people had never been one of his strong points. He had started to learn, of course, but that could be described as a work in progress at best. Still, if he calmed down and just thought about the kinds of things that other people needed... Well, this was Natsu they were talking about. Perhaps he should take a look around the kitchen and see if he could make him anything to eat. He'd learned to cook on Natsu's insistence. He was a master of all sorts of strange and powerful magic, the Slayer had reasoned, cooking ought to be easy. And in truth, it hadn't been difficult. Still, he didn't eat much himself these days, even with Natsu's determined influence, and most of the cooking he did was because the Dragon Slayer loved to eat.

He'd put a stew on the stove to simmer and was glancing about the living room in curiosity when someone opened the front door—which Natsu had apparently forgotten to lock. Three people froze in surprise in the doorway.

.

**Crossing Paths **

The tension in Natsu's living room was palpable. Zeraf had backed himself into a corner in his desperation to keep as much distance as possible between himself and Natsu's friends.

"Who are you?" the tall redhead demanded, her fierce gaze fixed upon him.

She took a step towards him and he held up a hand in an attempt to stop her. "Stay away. Please don't get too close to me."

This answer apparently didn't please the woman and she narrowed her eyes. "I asked you a question. I would appreciate an answer. And while you're at it, please tell us what you're doing here. Are you a friend of Natsu's?"

He nodded.

"Strange," the blond-haired girl beside her piped up, examining him with open curiosity. "I've never seen you around. Do you live in Magnolia?"

"Hey, quit crowding him, will ya?"

All eyes turned to Natsu who had emerged from his room and moved to stand between Zeraf and his fellow guild members. "Can't you see you're making the guy uncomfortable?" Glancing back at Zeraf, he added, "I think you'd better go check on whatever it is you're cooking, Z. It smells good. I'd hate for it to burn."

Grateful for the reprieve, Zeraf nodded and escaped into the kitchen, leaving Natsu alone with his three teammates.

"Should you be up already?" Lucy asked worriedly.

The Dragon Slayer waved off her concern. "I'm feeling much better. I've spent almost the whole day sleeping."

"Who was that, Natsu?" Gray asked, still casting suspicious looks towards the closed kitchen door. "Something seems off about him."

"I agree," Erza said, frowning. "You called him Z, is that correct? A strange kind of name."

"Yeah, and he's a friend of mine." Natsu shrugged and sat down, choosing the couch closest to the kitchen door. "He's a really great cook too."

"Have you known him long?"

The Slayer rolled his eyes. "Why is this starting to feel like an interrogation? I can have close friends outside of Fairy Tail."

"That's not the issue here," Erza said, her voice stern.

She'd always had good instincts, Natsu reflected. Damn, what could he say to get them off this subject? He couldn't exactly tell them the truth. He doubted the information would go down all that well.

_Hey guys, this is Zeraf—yes, the notorious Black Wizard from hundreds of years ago. Yes, he's apparently quite alive and we've become really close friends since I found him wandering around in the mountains trying to die. He wanted me to kill him, but I convinced him to give living a try. Oh, and please don't get too close to him if he asks you to stay away. He doesn't mean anything by it. He's just afraid he'll kill you on accident._

Yeah right, that would go down well. Hell, he wasn't sure they'd even believe him.

"If you must know, I met him on that solo mission I went on awhile back," Natsu said, deciding to give them a somewhat edited version of the truth. "He heard about the fight and came to visit me. Just don't upset him, all right? If he asks you to keep away from him, just do it and don't take it personally. He's been through a lot and he's kind of unstable."

And they could interpret that however they liked.

.

**Curious **

Lucy couldn't help but be curious. She may not have known Natsu for as long as their other teammates, but in a lot of ways, she rather thought she was more levelheaded and observant than the others at some moments. Like this one.

Natsu was being rather protective of the pale, black-haired stranger. It wasn't anything obvious, but something in the way he moved and spoke. She hadn't missed how he'd placed himself between them and the kitchen earlier, and she detected a certain seriousness in his eyes despite the joking tone of his voice when he told them not to bother his odd friend. It wasn't unusual for Natsu to be protective of his friends. It was in his nature. But to be protective of a friend from his other friends? What was it about this stranger that Natsu felt he had to protect him from them? From people that he worked with everyday and trusted?

When the food was ready, Z served them all without meeting any of their eyes and retreated immediately back into the kitchen with something about not being hungry and needing to clean up. Natsu didn't press him to eat with them, which also struck Lucy as somewhat out of character. Still, the boy looked so anxious and haunted that she couldn't find it in herself to be as wary and distant as their other two companions.

After dinner, Lucy stood up quickly and gathered the dirty dishes into her arms. "I'll just help you clean this up."

Natsu glanced sidelong at her, but she gave him a reassuring smile.

The strange boy seemed to have recollected himself since their sudden run in with each other earlier.

"Please leave those in the sink," he said from the far end of the kitchen as she entered.

"I thought I'd lend you two a hand with these," Lucy said lightly, setting the dirty dishes in the sink as requested. "I know how much work it can be to clean up after group meals. Natsu and everyone eat over at my apartment all the time—_without_ invitation, I might add."

Z made no move to get any closer. "I see. But it doesn't bother you."

Lucy laughed. "No, I suppose I've gotten used to it. I like having my alone time, especially with how hard it is to get any peace or quiet around Fairy Tail. But I love working with Natsu and the others too. They're the best friends I could ever have asked for."

Z appeared to give this serious consideration then nodded. At least where the Dragon Slayer was considered, he wholeheartedly agreed with her.

Lucy smiled to herself, turning on the water and reaching for the soap. Even though Z still kept himself as far away from her as the room would allow, at least he didn't ask her to leave. His mind seemed to have wandered off elsewhere.

Yes, Lucy had to admit that she was curious. She wanted to know who this mysterious person was that Natsu seemed to care so much about, who this person was that she suspected had been occupying so much of his time. And she asked her spirits to tell her who he was.

It was one of the worst mistakes she'd ever made.

.

**Revelations **

Zeraf woke to the sound of raised voices. He'd fallen asleep on Natsu's bed after cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. He'd been staying at the Dragon Slayer's house for the past few days, keeping away from the public and making sure Natsu got enough to eat and didn't go running about unnecessarily. It was lucky that Natsu's neighbors were away on vacation.

Opening his eyes, Zeraf sat up slowly, the voices on the other side of the bedroom door coming into focus as the vestiges of sleep fell away from his mind.

"—knew? You knew and you let him live with you? Hell, you let him come to Magnolia? What's wrong with you, Natsu? I knew you were crazy, but this?"

"Don't talk like you understand everything that's happened!"

"You're right, because I don't understand!"

So Natsu's teammates were back. Zeraf's heart sank.

"He's not who you think he is—or he _is_, but he also isn't. He's different."

"Different? Different! Is that the best you can manage? Have you forgotten that he's the one who created Deliora? That monster killed Ur and hundreds of other people!"

Oh, so this Ice Wizard's loved ones had lost their lives to one of his creations. Zeraf lowered his head, the old guilt settling back into him like a leaden weight upon his soul. What was he doing here?

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but that was a long time ago. He isn't the same person he was back then. He's not evil anymore."

"You guys—"

"You can't change the past."

"No you can't, but he's honestly sorry about it. I'm not going to let you hurt him. Well, I doubt you'd be able to hurt him—he's pretty hard to damage. But I'm not going to let you try. He doesn't deserve it."

In the darkness of the room, Zeraf felt tears well in the corners of his eyes and slip down his face. _Natsu_. Even knowing who he was, knowing everything he'd done, Natsu still thought he was worth protecting. He didn't understand.

_Oh no_, he thought, his hands coming up to clutch at his head. _Not now. Not here_.

.

**Questions **

Natsu stopped mid-snarl, his head jerking back in the direction of the bedroom door. Talk about bad timing, not that there was ever really a good timing for Zeraf's Death Magic to act up.

"I don't have time to explain things to you guys right now," Natsu said tersely. "Don't come in."

Dashing into the bedroom and slamming the door shut again behind him, Natsu ran to the hunched figure on the edge of the bed. He wrapped an arm around his trembling body to steady him.

"Hey, I'm sorry you heard all that. Think you can manage to pull it together?"

Zeraf shook his head, his breathing becoming labored as he struggled to stave off what he knew was coming. "S—spell."

Natsu sighed. It seemed they didn't have a choice. He could carry the dark wizard back to the woods fairly quickly, but probably not quickly enough—and there were all those streets full of people on the way. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. Zeraf had insisted during their travels that Natsu learn to cast a sleep spell strong enough to put him under for a few hours. That way, if anyone was in immediate danger during the moments when his magic went out of control, the Slayer would be able to help remedy the situation and take him somewhere more isolated to wait for him to wake up—just in case the episode wasn't over yet. Subtle magic like that had never been Natsu's specialty, however, and learning it had taken quite a lot of time and effort. Still, nothing could stand against the Fire Wizard's determination for long, and that included a measly sleep spell.

Moments later, the tension flowed out of the dark-haired wizard and he slumped against Natsu's chest, his eyelids falling shut and his breathing evening out. With care, Natsu laid him back down on the bed and pulled the blanket over him. He stood for a moment in silence, studying the sleeping wizard's face. He looked peaceful now, but the tearstains on his cheeks were still visible. Natsu didn't want to leave him alone, but his friends were still waiting for an explanation outside.

An awkward silence greeted him when he returned to the living room. Normally, his teammates would have followed him despite his warnings, but something in the air and something in the way he'd spoken kept them in place. Whatever he'd rushed off to attend to, it had been deadly serious.

"What was that all about?" Gray asked, the first to break the tense stillness.

"Apparently, caring about life and Death Magic don't mix," Natsu said, folding his arms and leaning against the closed door. "So when he thinks about it too much, his magic acts up and kills everything around him. That's how we met actually. Because his magic doesn't affect me."

"And this was...?"

There wasn't much point in keeping it a secret anymore. "Quite a few months ago when I went on that mission to the mountains. I heard about this cursed stranger wandering around the woods and went to investigate. It turned out that a Dark Guild was trying to recruit him, but he turned them down."

.

**Truce **

Uncomfortable silences seemed to be the norm these days. Lucy shifted uneasily in her seat, glancing from Erza to Natsu, then from Natsu to Gray. She wished she'd never found out who Z was, or at least that Gray and Erza hadn't walked in on her screeching in surprise and overheard. It wasn't that she didn't understand where the other two were coming from, but she trusted Natsu and his judgment. She also trusted her own gut feelings, and she was almost positive that this quiet, calm person who worried about other people's safety wasn't the same evil wizard that all those nightmarish stories were told about.

"I can't believe you've been keeping this a secret for so long," Erza spoke up finally.

_That_ Lucy had to agree with.

The redhead didn't sound angry anymore, but her voice was still deathly serious. "You could have put a lot of people in danger."

Natsu's eyes narrowed, but she raised a hand to stall him before he could retort.

"I'm not saying that I don't believe you when you say he's... different. And I can understand your reluctance to share this information. In fact, I think all of us should agree to keep this between us—at least for now. I'm simply saying that you need to make sure you think these kinds of decisions through. And the fact remains that we are supposed to be a team."

"I did what I thought was best," Natsu replied, now equally calm.

"I know."

The two held one another's gaze for awhile longer then the corner of Natsu's lips quirked upward. "And I don't regret it. I couldn't just leave him to wander around all alone like that. Besides, he kind of grows on you."

Gray snorted but made no comment. Frankly, he wasn't sure what to think at the moment. He knew Natsu wasn't a liar, and he also knew despite his constant protestations to the contrary, that the Dragon Slayer wasn't a fool. He could be as sharp a tactician as Erza when he needed to be, and he had indisputably good instincts. And if all of these things were true, then he had no choice but to believe that the dark wizard in the other room really wasn't a threat anymore, at least not intentionally.

Even more importantly, Natsu apparently considered Zeraf a friend, and he protected his friends with everything he had.

When nothing more was said, the Dragon Slayer straightened up. "Well, if we're done here, I'm going to take him back to where he's been staying before he wakes up in case his magic goes haywire again when he does."

"Are you going to tell us where that is?" Lucy asked tentatively. She was glad the arguing seemed to be over and didn't want to start it up again.

Natsu shrugged. "You guys aren't going to try anything, are you?"

He gave Gray a rather pointed look and the Ice Wizard sighed. "Much as I hate to say it, no."

"Good. I'm holding you to your word." Some of the seriousness eased up and Natsu grinned. "Then come on, I'll show you. I think we did a great job with the place."

* * *

**TBC... **

* * *

**. **


	4. The Journey

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Pairing(s)**: Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf

**WARNINGS: Slight AU ,** **Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

* * *

**Firelight and Shadows**

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

**Scroll IV: The Journey**

**Home **

"Wow," Lucy marveled, standing in the middle of the main cavern, "this place is pretty cozy, isn't it?"

With the exception of the dead trees out front, but that could be ignored.

Natsu just grinned, still preoccupied with the sleeping bundle in his arms. The dark wizard's face was obscured both by his unruly, black hair and the hood of his plain brown cloak pulled low to shadow his features. Even so, Natsu had led them along little used streets and back alleyways as he brought them through the city towards the woods. It seemed that for the sake of this other wizard, the Dragon Slayer had learned to take precautions and to be careful. Admittedly, Lucy was impressed. Natsu really did care a lot about him, didn't he? It made her wonder just exactly what kind of relationship the two shared.

Leaving them to look about the living area, Natsu disappeared into the adjoining cave with his burden. The wizard had hardly stirred the entire way, but Natsu wasn't particularly worried. He could tell through their connection that the wizard's sleep was calm if not entirely content.

For now, that was enough.

"So when I thought someone was following us," Gray said as Natsu returned to the main cavern, "it was him, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I thought it would be more interesting than sitting around here waiting for us to get back."

The Ice Wizard grimaced and muttered, "I still can't believe this is happening."

"And the months you were missing," Erza mused aloud. "I take it you took the long way back to do more than see the sights."

Natsu shrugged. "We needed to figure out a way to keep his magic more or less under control."

The three had many other questions, and the story of their journey had to be retold with previously missing details filled in now that secrets no longer needed to be kept.

Natsu paused once in the conversation to glance towards the other cave and Lucy assumed that Zeraf had woken up. But the Slayer didn't comment and so none of them asked. There had been enough tension in the air for one day.

It was so late that it was early by the time his teammates left. Natsu remained in the main cavern for awhile longer thinking over everything that had been shared before rising and heading into the other room. The dark wizard's eyes were open although he hadn't bothered to sit up, simply staring a little blankly at the ceiling.

"They know."

It was a statement rather than a question, but Natsu answered it anyway.

"They do. I told them most of what happened." Not including the part where they were bound together by a spell developed by Dragon Slayers, but they didn't need to know that yet. "They've agreed to give you a chance."

"Why?"

This made the Dragon Slayer quirk an eyebrow, moving closer to the side of the bed so he could peer down into the wizard's face. "Why not?"

Why not? Zeraf said nothing. He thought it was rather obvious why not.

"I know what you're thinking, but that's not how the world works. Not everything is so black and white. And being fair sometimes means giving people a second chance. Acceptance is something people often have to earn, but you can't earn it if people don't give you the opportunity. Besides, you have me vouching for you."

When Zeraf's gaze finally focused on him, the Dragon Slayer grinned. "I could swear I've been saying this forever, but seriously, lighten up. You're not wandering around by yourself anymore. Things are different now."

And, strangely enough, he found that they were. He wasn't alone anymore, was he? Even his Death Magic didn't seem to be as complicated a dilemma as it had been before when he'd had to deal with it and its consequences on his own.

And somehow... Somehow, these caves where they'd spent so much time together had become home.

.

**A New Horizon **

The situation remained quite delicate for several weeks. The members of "Fairy Tail's strongest team" tread cautiously around each other while they tried to settle back into a routine that had been broken by Zeraf's arrival. But after the initial shock and dismay that resulted from their discovery of his identity, they found it hard to stay wary or suspicious of him.

There was something incredibly... dare she say, _endearing_—about walking into Natsu's apartment to find the great and terrible Black Wizard Zeraf puzzling over a cookbook. At least she knew now where all those books Natsu had bought had gone.

The wizard could almost always be found out in the woods or in Natsu's apartment. Now that Natsu's closest friends knew about him, he stayed with the Slayer more often. That meant that the team ended up spending less time at Lucy's, including Lucy herself.

"Anything good?" she asked from the doorway.

Natsu had told them all to try their best not to startle the dark wizard, a rule they all followed to the letter. They had witnessed what his rampant Death Magic could do once, and none of them wanted to inadvertently trigger a repeat of the experience.

"I don't know," Zeraf admitted. As far as he could tell, all food as long as it wasn't too badly burnt or over spiced was good in Natsu's books.

Watching the expressions change on Gray's face every time they had dinner at Natsu's was hilarious. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the idea of Zeraf being a good cook. For several days, he wouldn't eat the food until everyone else had had it and pronounced it more than tasteful.

For his part, Zeraf avoided the Ice Wizard when he could. Gray represented so many of his regrets.

Still, eventually, the conversation picked up around the dining table and the atmosphere relaxed. Their team had always been a bit dysfunctional; well, most people found their entire guild a little dysfunctional. But they worked, and they would make this work too.

.

**Comfort **

"I guess this explains why you went on all those curse breaking and relic hunting missions," Lucy mused, watching Zeraf run his hand over the runes carved upon the ruin walls and mumble under his breath.

"Yup." Natsu grinned, tossing aside the shattered limb of a stone statue he'd just dismantled. The statues could be found all throughout these ruins, and they activated the moment people came within reach of their weapons. "Z's great with all the ancient mumbo jumbo, and I handle any of the fighting that has to be done. It's perfect."

"Sounds like you two had fun," Erza observed. Clearing her throat, she raised her voice, "So, Z, any luck?"

Using the nickname herself felt strange, but she understood why Natsu had decided that it was best. Although she rather thought he could perhaps have been more creative.

Zeraf paused, deep in thought, then nodded. "According to these records, the artifact we're looking for should be housed in a shrine underneath the north tower."

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "What are we waiting for then?"

"Natsu." The Black Wizard's quiet voice halted the Slayer mid sprint. Once he was sure he had the Slayer's attention, Zeraf pointed in the opposite direction. "The north tower is that way."

"Oh, right." Natsu laughed, scratching the back of his head. "My bad. Let's go!"

Gray crossed his arms, falling into step beside Lucy as Natsu rushed off with the Black Wizard trailing after him. "Amazing, Natsu actually listens when he talks. It's a little creepy how well they work together."

"It's almost like he's a part of the team."

The Ice Wizard frowned uneasily at her statement, but Lucy rather thought it was true.

That would probably make Natsu happy, she mused. As for Z... Well, she was still trying to figure him out and it was apparent to her that he was still trying to do the same.

One thing she did notice, though, was how the dark wizard seemed to take comfort from Natsu's presence. He was visibly more relaxed when the Dragon Slayer was around. Or maybe it was more the fact that he still felt ill at ease around the other wizards. Whatever the case may be, he stayed close to Natsu when he could, and once, Lucy had even seen him smile at something the Dragon Slayer said. It was a small, faint smile but a real one, and it told her more than either of them had in words.

.

**Loneliness **

"He's happy when he's around you."

"Hmmm?" Natsu looked at Lucy over their campfire, mouth full of venison.

"Z," she clarified, feeding a twig into the fire.

Natsu glanced back at the dark wizard, who had chosen a spot some ways apart from them and fallen asleep. The black of his hair and clothes made him almost disappear amidst the forest shadows. He didn't say anything in response to Lucy's statement. After all, what could he say?

"I'm glad you two ran into each other," the Celestial Wizard added, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I think he must have been very lonely."

Natsu swallowed the food and turned his gaze from the sleeping Black Wizard to the flames. He could remember the way Zeraf had looked back then, walking away from him amidst the dead trees with dried leaves drifting down around him. He'd thought the same then too, thought that the rather odd, quiet stranger seemed so very sad somehow and so very lonely.

But that was then.

"I'm glad I went after him that day," Natsu admitted then grinned at her. "He's not alone anymore."

Neither of them were, and Natsu would see that it stayed that way.

Besides, who knew where the Black Wizard would have ended up or what he would have ended up doing if Natsu hadn't come along?

.

**Peace Offering **

"Hey."

Gray waited, unsure if the wizard dozing on the bank of the stream had heard him. He had thought long and seriously before finally deciding to come out here. Erza had glanced his way when he'd left but hadn't said anything, a knowing look passing through her eyes.

Just when he'd made up his mind to call again, the other dark-haired wizard stirred and turned his head his way. Recognizing the Ice Wizard, he sat up completely, his expression unreadable.

Gray didn't wait for the silence to become uncomfortable. "You probably know that Natsu left with Lucy and Happy this morning to go on a job."

Zeraf nodded, waiting in silence for the Ice Wizard to get to the point. He wouldn't have come all the way out here into the woods to tell him that.

"In the mean time, Erza and I have been asked to take on a different request." Gray paused then squared his shoulders and continued. "There's going to be a lot of translation work involved and it seems we may be dealing with a powerful Rune Wizard as well. Neither of us are any good at that sort of thing. Besides, to be perfectly honest, I'm not all that keen to go on a mission alone with Erza."

He let the silent question hang in the air between them, waiting for a response and unsure whether he wanted the dark wizard to say yes or no. He would never forget the terrible things that had happened as a result of this wizard's past, but there was a place and time for such memories. And that wasn't what this was about.

Zeraf hesitated, apparently just as unsure about joining the two Fairy Tail wizards on their mission without Natsu as Gray was about asking him to accompany them. But this person before him who had the most reason amongst the members of the team to despise him had found the resolve to seek him out, and if he could do that, it seemed only fair that Zeraf found the courage to accept the awkward peace offering despite his own misgivings.

Gray relaxed a little when the Black Wizard got to his feet and moved to follow him.

It wasn't about forgiveness. Zeraf hadn't asked for forgiveness. He hadn't asked for anything.

It was about moving on.

It was about knowing how precious life was and doing something about it. It was about humanity and about acceptance, and so many of the other things that Fairy Tail stood for.

.

**Jealousy **

Natsu wasn't sure what was wrong with him. He should have been happy that Zeraf was getting along with his teammates, and he _was_—but he also sort of wasn't. There was a part of him that wished they could return to the days when it had just been the two of them. Somehow, watching them all together simply made him feel restless and a little irritated.

He didn't say anything out loud, but Zeraf noticed. He'd always been observant, and he was even more so when it came to Natsu because of the bond they now shared. At first, he wasn't sure what he should do. For days, he waited to see if Natsu would decide to talk to him about it, but despite usually being so loud about his thoughts, this time, the Slayer only brooded and watched. When Zeraf started noting a hint of red creeping into the Slayer's normally dark eyes, he reasoned that something had to be done.

He kept quiet until they were alone in the caves one evening after a joint mission before approaching Natsu. The Dragon Slayer sat unmoving on one of the large, flat boulders they'd left in the living area for extra seating. He hadn't gone to see his teammates off and he had an uncharacteristic frown on his face.

"Natsu, something's troubling you."

"It's nothing."

"Natsu."

The Slayer growled, jerking around so quickly that the wizard barely had time to blink. He found himself on the ground with the Slayer on top of him, hands on either side of his head and narrowed eyes fixed intently on his face. There was a beat of utter stillness in which they stared at one another, then Natsu leaned down and kissed him—a fierce kiss—frustrated, rough and demanding.

After a split second of shock, Zeraf relaxed and leaned into the touch, unexpectedly comfortable with their proximity.

Somehow, this silent gesture of submission made the frustrated tension in the Dragon Slayer unwind a little. Eventually, he pulled away and rested his forehead against Zeraf's.

"I suppose I was starting to feel a little jealous," Natsu admitted. "I liked having you to myself."

Zeraf wasn't sure what to say to that. He didn't know how to tell Natsu that no one could ever mean as much to him as the Fire Dragon Slayer. He didn't know how to tell him that he cared for him more than he had ever cared for anyone or anything in his life.

He had suspected that the dragon in Natsu wanted him, but he hadn't been sure what the human part thought until now. Although the fact that the dragon was interested had been a sign in itself that the Slayer considered him special to him, and that alone had made the dark wizard feel at peace.

What a strange concept. Zeraf had never thought before that he would ever be able to find peace without dying. But then he'd been proven wrong about so many things in the past few hundred years that perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised.

He hoped that Natsu could read these emotions through their bond because he sure as hell didn't know how to put them into words.

It seemed he could because the Dragon Slayer grinned. He didn't say anything either, but he did move to kiss him again, more gently this time. And everything was all right again.

.

**Affection **

For all his hundreds of years of life, the legendary Black Wizard Zeraf couldn't say that he knew what love was. He'd never been in love before and certainly no one had ever loved him, not like that. "Love" simply wasn't a word that he or other people generally associated with him. At least not back then.

But a lot could change in four hundred years. A lot had. He'd just never thought that it could change quite this much.

He was still getting used to the idea of intimacy and, for once, Natsu seemed content to proceed slowly, so not much changed outwardly in the way they acted around one another. The easy rapport between Natsu and his teammates returned though, and it became a normal occurrence for Zeraf to wake with Natsu's arm around his waist and his head tucked under the Dragon Slayer's chin. The first time this had happened, Zeraf had frozen up and woken Natsu with his awkward panic. Now, if the Slayer was still dozing—which he usually was, he simply shut his eyes and went back to sleep.

It was a warm, easy sort of affection, a strong but simple kind of love.

It could have been very complicated. In essence, they were both rather complicated people with complicated histories and unusual positions in the world. But Natsu didn't care for unnecessary complications and Zeraf had enough complications in his life not to want to see one more.

And in any case, they had time.

.

**Nightmares **

They knew something was wrong when every member of the guild had the same nightmare. They dreamed of a great tree upon an island in the sea protected for hundreds of years by a sacred magic now beginning to wither and die. And with its death came misfortune upon misfortune, loneliness and separation.

The mood in the guild house that morning was grim. After the initial surprise and discussion, a grave silence fell over everyone.

"Something must be wrong on Tenrou Island," Makarov announced at last, opening his eyes and looking up at the wizards gathered before him. He considered them all his children and his heart ached to think of what these nightmares might foretell.

"Some of us should go investigate," Erza said, her expression dark. "Whatever is going on, it must be serious. If someone is trying to cause harm to Fairy Tail, they must be very powerful if they're able to affect the island in this way."

The old guild master made a sound of agreement in his throat.

"So who's going?"

.

**Dream **

"Something strange has been happening on the island and I'm going to help figure out what. That island is sacred to Fairy Tail. It's also where the trials to make S-class are held. I'm not going to let anyone ruin it or get in the way of me becoming an S-class wizard and finding Igneal."

Natsu and Zeraf stood on the bank of a lake they had found some distance from the cave. It felt unpleasantly like a goodbye.

"It's been almost ten years and you still want to find your dragon that much?"

"Of course! Do you even have to ask? I'm never going to give up on searching for him." Turning to face the dark wizard, Natsu added, "If you disappeared one day, I'd look for you too. And I wouldn't stop until I'd found you."

Zeraf didn't know what to say to that. So instead, he jut lowered his head and said, "Be careful."

He had a bad feeling about what was to come. And unfortunately, his instincts were seldom wrong.

.

**Conflict **

"Who are you and what are you doing on this island? This island belongs to Fairy Tail. You're a trespasser."

The spiky-haired man grinned, showing teeth as he lifted one hand, displaying a handful of black fire. "I am a member of the guild known as Grimoire Heart. We're looking for the Black Wizard Zeraf. We have reason to suspect that he has connections to Fairy Tail and so here we are. Hand him over or we'll destroy this island."

Natsu could feel the shock and confusion from some of the people behind him. However, right now wasn't the time to wonder how these people had gotten a hold of their information. Fortunately, it seemed their sources weren't too thorough.

"He's not here," Natsu said quite honestly, calling up his own flames. "Now leave. You're not welcome here and there's no way in hell that we'll let you destroy this place."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I've always wanted to fight Fairy Tail's famous Salamander." Before either of them could launch an attack, however, a distant look flickered across the man's face and he grimaced. "Unfortunately, it seems this will have to wait. Boss's orders."

"Hey, you can't just run away!"

"I'm not running, Salamander. It just so happens that I have somewhere else I need to be right now. But my colleagues and I will be back, you can count on that."

Natsu didn't like the look in the other fire wielder's eyes one bit, but he was gone before anything else could be said. He had a sudden, sinking feeling that this Dark Guild knew a lot more than they'd let on.

.

**Break **

Something was blocking their connection.

Zeraf frowned, staring out across the vast expanse of ocean water. When the change had happened, he had immediately sought out the island where Natsu had gone with the other guild wizards. But without their link, he wasn't sure where to start looking for the Slayer.

However, he'd caught glimpses of their enemy. They all used magic—powerful magic—that had been classified as "lost" for decades. And it seemed that they were looking for him.

It upset and angered him to think that all of this was because of him. How many times did he have to tell these Dark Guilds to leave him in peace? How many people were they going to hurt in their vain pursuit of his magic? Why could they not understand that he wanted no part of their schemes?

He would give them another warning, but they were really beginning to try his patience.

Unfortunately, the tall, dark-haired woman did not see things his way. Her sheer determination not to let him walk away caught him off guard. One thing became apparent. She wasn't the kind of wizard he could defeat in the state he was in.

.

**Wrath **

Dark eyes snapped open and Natsu sat bolt upright, scanning the area around the campfire. Nothing seemed amiss but his internal senses were driving him crazy. He felt an inexplicable, overwhelming rage threatening to cloud his mind, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Natsu?" Lucy yawned, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. "What's the matter?"

They'd been searching for the Dark Guild wizards all day and she was still exhausted.

Erza and Gray began to stir as well, all roused by their companion's sudden movement.

Natsu didn't answer. Something was wrong, he knew it, but what? They weren't being attacked and he didn't smell any of their enemies nearby. So why did he feel so angry?

He was missing something here. Wait a moment, something was missing—something important. Concentrating, he reached out with his mind, trying to find a familiar presence that was somehow no longer quite there. The connection wasn't broken, but it felt like a wall had been built between them, and try as he might, he couldn't break through it.

"Natsu."

"I think they found him."

It was lucky that they'd all split up to scour the island. His teammates knew the truth about Zeraf and he had no need to explain anything to them.

They packed up quickly and headed out again at once. Natsu fought down his panic, trying to concentrate on the sounds and smells that reached him. Suddenly, it seemed like there were unfamiliar people everywhere. He growled low in his throat, finally locking onto the scent of the man they had confronted earlier and veering in that direction.

He wanted answers.

.

**Scatter **

Fights were going on all over the island. Zeraf could sense the clash of magical power all around him as he opened his eyes, although all that was eclipsed by the awareness of a force infinitely greater and more deadly heading their way.

He was a little surprised to wake up in the middle of the woods, but he had more pressing matters that needed his attention. He stumbled to his feet, wisps of darkness curling around him. He had only one thought on his mind: finding the person responsible for all this turmoil and making him pay.

.

**Destruction **

The destruction of the airship was silent and swift. Zeraf had almost forgotten what it was like to have the full use of his magic, yet the strength of it left a bitter taste in his mouth and it angered him even further that these people had pushed him to this point. He'd finally been finding a place for himself in this world. He'd even begun to learn a little of what it might be like to belong and to be happy. He couldn't help but resent these foolish dark wizards for forcing him to let some of that go—to punish them for all the trouble they had caused Natsu and his guild and to prevent them from pursuing him any longer.

Now the Black Dragon was coming and it was all their fault.

Dark wings blotted out the sunlight and Zeraf suddenly found himself wishing that he could send the dragon away. He wished that he'd been able to warn Natsu. But those were just some of the many things that he had discovered over the years that he could not do.

Sometimes, no matter how powerful you were, it just wasn't enough. And the truth of that was bittersweet.

.

**Absence **

It felt like someone had just ripped his heart out of his chest. Zeraf doubled over in agony, curling in on himself amidst the wreckage of the airship. His breath came out in short, shallow gasps and he clutched at the fabric off his robes, trying desperately to find some kind of stability in the sudden chaos of pain and emotions fogging his mind.

The island was gone. There was nothing but ocean where the Black Dragon's attack had landed.

For a brief moment, Zeraf wondered if his old wish was finally coming true and he was going to die here alongside the island that the Fairy Tail guild had held as sacred. But then the pain eased up a bit and he was able to breathe a little more deeply albeit shakily.

The island was gone, but somehow, he knew in his bones that the people who had been on it weren't dead. He didn't know where they had gone, but at least they were still alive. This knowledge helped relieve the pain from their abruptly broken connection a little bit more and his body relaxed enough so that he was simply lying on the cooling metal.

It looked like he would be back on the road again, for how long he had no idea. Still, he had all the time in the world to wait.

_Natsu_.

* * *

**TBC... **

* * *

**AN**: I will be redoing a couple of the series' major events. Hopefully, it's not too confusing. I wrote this story for myself (being something of a sucker for second chances), so I didn't originally pay too much attention to whether or not people who haven't seen the series would be able to understand it. Still, I usually try my best regardless to make sure my stories include enough info.

.


	5. Fast Forward

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail.

**Pairing(s)**: Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf

**WARNINGS: Slight AU ,** **Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

* * *

**Firelight and Shadows**

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

**Scroll V: Fast Forward**

**Time Gap **

Seven years.

Natsu could hardly believe it. The last thing he remembered was being attacked by the Black Dragon, and then he and his companions were all waking up on the island seven years later.

After reclaiming the guild house, Natsu headed straight for the woods. He didn't have to go inside to realize that no one was living there anymore. The familiar scent of the person he was looking for still lingered about the place, but it was faint, just a reminder of someone long gone. He sighed, finding a seat at the cave mouth and staring broodingly up at the trees, restless and unhappy.

_Where is he? _

Shutting his eyes, Natsu tried to find that old, familiar presence at the back of his mind. Before being sealed away, their connection had been blocked. Seven years seemed to have gotten rid of that wall, but unlike before, that connection was weak. Try as he might, he couldn't use it to pinpoint an exact location—or even a general direction. Perhaps the person on the other end was simply a long, long way off. Or maybe something had happened to him in these seven years that Natsu was unaware of.

The Dragon Slayer let out a frustrated growl.

Now that he thought back on it, he'd felt a pang of—_something_—right as the Black Dragon had attacked them. It had felt like something breaking and it had hurt like hell, although he'd assumed at the time that it had been due to the dragon's attack.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Natsu didn't bother to look at the new arrival.

Gray crossed his arms, following his gaze out amidst the trees. "I've been checking up on what we've missed. It seems that someone destroyed Grimoire Heart's airship seven years ago and killed their leader. The Magic Council has also been scouring the kingdom for someone, a wizard to be exact. I thought you might want to know."

For a long moment, the Slayer said nothing. His unruly bangs fell over his face, hiding his eyes in shadow. Then he stood up and, with a muttered thanks, started back towards the city.

Zeraf was still out there somewhere, and Natsu was going to find him. He couldn't leave just yet. There was still a lot off work that needed to be done to get Fairy Tail back on its feet as a guild. But as soon as he could, he would start searching.

.

**Waking **

It felt like waking up after a very long dream.

Dark eyes opened slowly, focused on somewhere far away. The dappled shadows cast by the branches of the tree beneath which he sat painted patches of light and darkness on his clothes. Birds chirped somewhere off in the forest accompanied by the soft rustle of leaves in a warm breeze.

The constant, dull pain in his chest had disappeared, replaced by a distant, clouded ache of something missing but not quite gone.

They were back. Natsu was back.

If anyone else had been around, they would have seen just the ghost of a smile appear on the normally solemn face of the dark wizard. It was an expression touched with relief and something akin to happiness.

Seven years.

He had been alive for so long that seven years should have seemed like nothing, but somehow, it felt like a very, very long time.

.

**Arrest **

"Black Wizard Zeraf."

The dark-haired wanderer stopped as numerous, armor-clad guards emerged from amidst the trees to surround him. Many of them carried weapons, and many of those weapons were leveled at him. It took him a moment to recognize the uniforms and crests of the wizards who worked for the Magic Council. If he recalled correctly, they referred to themselves as the Rune Knights.

"What do you want?"

Frankly, Zeraf was more concerned for their safety than his own. Safety wasn't something he'd had to think much about on his own behalf for quite some time.

"So the rumors are true," the man who appeared to be in charge said. "You really are still alive."

"It would appear so."

His calm reply seemed to trouble the man who narrowed his eyes as he studied him from head to toe. All around them, the armed ranks shifted warily. This pale, dark-haired boy didn't look like much of a threat, but all of them had heard the stories and knew better than to underestimate him.

"We've been ordered to take you into custody. I am Captain Lorez," the man told him stiffly. "Please come quietly or we will be forced to take more drastic measures."

Zeraf wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to return to Magnolia and to Natsu, but he didn't want to hurt these people. They weren't bad men and had done nothing to incur his wrath.

"I have somewhere I need to be," Zeraf finally settled for saying.

The captain visibly tensed but did not back down. "Those are my orders."

Zeraf closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. It seemed he had no choice.

_I'm sorry, Natsu... _

.

**Searching **

Natsu had thought that finding Zeraf again would be easy, or at least easier than this. He'd figured that since he was back, their connection would clear up and grow stronger again, return to what it had been so that locating the boy would simply be a matter of following that link to the other end. It had also occurred to him that Zeraf might return on his own, seek him out again now that he was no longer sealed.

He should probably have known better. His life was never that easy, especially when it came to missing people.

"Are you all right?"

Natsu glanced sideways at Lucy as she came to stand beside him on the roof of the guild house. "I should be asking you that."

The Celestial Wizard let out a long sigh, plopping down onto the shingles and leaning back on her hands as she gazed out across the city. "Seven years... We've missed so much. But... I'll be all right."

"That's good then."

She turned her gaze back to him. It felt a little strange that Natsu wasn't smiling, but then she'd expected as much. At least she'd found some kind of closure where the people she cared about were concerned. She wasn't _happy_ exactly. It was hard to be happy right now knowing her father was gone and how much time she had missed with him, but she would be okay. At least she knew what her father had been doing and what had happened to him.

According to Happy, the Dragon Slayer had been taking on more than his usual number of missions. Of course there was their current financial crisis weighing in the balance, but she knew it wasn't just that. He'd been accepting missions located all across the kingdom, traveling as far as he could and visiting all sorts of places, the more remote the better. He was searching for Zeraf. It was the only logical explanation.

"We'll find out what happened to him, Natsu," Lucy said, trying to be reassuring. Natsu and everyone else here at Fairy Tail were always there for her. She swore to herself that she would do everything she could to return that support.

Natsu inhaled deeply, sorting through the many different scents. Magnolia didn't smell much different. The people had changed, but the city itself had remained much the same.

"Yeah." Natsu squared his shoulders, his mouth drawn into a thin, determined line. "We will."

.

**Fear **

Zeraf could sense their fear, feel it in the way they looked at him. Everyone in this place was afraid—terrified—of him, including many of the other prisoners. He sat leaning against the wall of the cell they had put him in, ignoring the cold and the uncomfortable energy of the layers upon layers of magical wards they had placed around his room. In his mind, he replayed memories of other days, brighter ones—back in Magnolia with Natsu and his friends from the guild.

"_If you disappeared one day, I'd look for you too. And I wouldn't stop until I'd found you." _

He grasped tightly onto those memories to keep himself grounded. They couldn't afford to have him sink back into the dark abyss he'd been in before the Dragon Slayer had found him. Zeraf didn't know what he might do if that were to happen. And whatever else, he didn't want to lose Natsu.

He occasionally saw a guard or two, but for the most part, everyone left him alone. No one from the Council had come to see him yet either, and no questions had been asked after the first day.

"_Were you the one responsible for the destruction of the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart's airship and the death of the one known as Hades?" _

"_Yes." _

"_What reason did you have for your actions?" _

"_Their selfishness and greed caused a lot of bloodshed. They needed to be punished." _

Zeraf suspected that the Council didn't know what to make of him. Natsu would probably find that rather funny.

The corners of his lips turned up just a little in a not-quite smile and he closed his eyes.

.

**Faith **

"You know, they're going to want to execute you."

Zeraf glanced at the man standing on the other side of the magical barrier glowing faintly around him. He recognized him as the captain of the team that had brought him in.

"I know."

"Then are you so calm because you know they can't kill you?"

Captain Lorez was honestly curious. He'd been observing the dark wizard ever since he'd arrested him, and he wasn't really what he had expected. He didn't try to fight them, didn't talk back or deny any of the Council's accusations. In fact, he barely spoke at all to anyone.

Zeraf studied him for awhile longer then closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

"They can't," he said, his voice matter of fact. "But that doesn't really concern me."

"They're talking about sealing you away again. Does that not worry you? Are you really going to let that happen without even trying to stop it?"

"I don't think Natsu would want me to kill you all. Besides, you seem like a decent man. I have no desire to have your death on my hands."

"Natsu?"

"He promised that he would find me. I have no reason to be concerned."

.

**Craze **

Natsu wasn't acting like himself. It wasn't exactly obvious, butt people were starting to notice. For one thing, he was being rather snappish. He'd gotten into several fights, which wouldn't have been that unusual except that he'd been excessively aggressive in them and sent more than a handful of wizards to the hospital.

"Natsu," Makarov said grimly, hands clasped behind him as he stood by the window in his office, "can you tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, Natsu," Gray said, nursing his bandaged arm with a scowl. Sure, he and the Dragon Slayer fought all the time, but for the most part, they weren't really serious fights. This was the first time serious blood had been drawn. That wasn't normal at all, and the Ice Wizard was—quite honestly—rather concerned. Everyone in the guild knew that the Dragon Slayer's physical strength was incredible, but he never went that far against his own guild members, especially not in their near daily brawls.

Makarov gave the Ice Wizard a warning look before returning his attention to the other boy. "Well?"

"I'm sorry," Natsu muttered. His wild hair cast shadows over his face, hiding his eyes.

The guild master waited, but Natsu didn't say anything else.

At last, Makarov sighed. "Natsu, you need to learn to control your temper. This is getting out of hand. For what happened today, you're responsible for replacing everything you broke. Also, you'll be staying around the city until further notice. That means no job requests."

At that, the Dragon Slayer's head jerked up. Gray almost took a step away from him. The Slayer's eyes were narrowed in fury and the Ice Wizard was strongly reminded of the dragons whose magic his friend wielded. But then Natsu unclenched his fists at his side and forced himself to calm down enough to give the old man a nod before leaving.

"What was that?" Gray wondered out loud when he was sure Natsu was out of earshot, which was quite some time later.

The old guild master let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and his shoulders slumped a fraction. "I don't know, butt something tells me that it's not a good thing. It seems that it's more than just him being in a foul mood. Perhaps I should get a friend to have a look at him."

.

**Diagnosis **

"He's a Dragon Slayer, right?" Porlyusica didn't wait for them to confirm her question. It was really more a statement anyway. "Wizards like him share a lot of dragon characteristics—like their heightened senses, their strength, and their magic."

"Yeah, we know all that," Gray said impatiently.

Porlyusica glared at him and he cringed back, ducking his head in apology. The crimson-clad healer woman was almost as scary as Erza.

"Do you want to know what's going on with your friend or not?"

"Of course we do," Lucy cut in hurriedly, trying to smooth things over. "We're sorry for interrupting you. Please continue."

The healer frowned, glancing back towards the door to Natsu's room. "Dragons are fiercely protective and often aggressive creatures. It's part of their nature, and they're especially possessive of what they consider theirs. It's probably where the idea of dragons guarding treasure comes from."

She paused but no one in her audience dared interrupt this time.

"Your Dragon Slayer friend," she said finally, "has gone and created a bond with someone. A very strong bond. There appears to be magic involved, but it's not just that. The problem, though, is that that person is no longer here. The absence of this person is making him unstable and extremely agitated. I suppose you could say that his desire to find and protect this person is making him a little crazy, and it's only going to get worse if he feels like this person is in danger. The longer they're apart, the more likely that will happen."

"Is there anything we can do?" Erza asked slowly. A suspicion was forming in her mind and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Short of finding whoever it is he's looking for, not really." The healer shrugged. "Just try not to irritate him. As I understand it, the boy's never had a great temper. Oh, and try not to make him feel like you're getting in his way. It wouldn't be advisable."

There was little more that could be said and she'd never been one to mince words. But before leaving, the healer added, "I won't tell Makarov about this yet. You look like you all have some thinking to do. This is between you and the Dragon Slayer. It's none of my business."

.

**Discussion **

Natsu didn't say anything when his teammates made their way cautiously into the room. He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to see the healer woman. He could have told them that he wasn't sick. He knew he wasn't sick, unless you could be sick with frustration.

"So what did she tell you?" he asked finally, breaking the silence when it seemed that none of the others were anxious to be the first to speak.

He sounded calm but the other wizards noted with trepidation that his eyes had a tint of red in them.

Gray was the one to answer. "She told us that you're searching for someone, which we all already knew. And that you share a bond with this person. So I assume it's him?"

"Yeah, and what of it?"

Under other circumstances, his guarded retort may have caused some of the others to bristle, but not today. They weren't going to get any discussing done if they started picking fights with one another. So maybe fighting was their usual form of communication, but there was a time and place for everything.

"She also said that there might have been a spell involved," Lucy said, frowning a little from a mixture of confusion and concern. "She didn't know how to explain that."

Natsu looked at them for a long moment as though debating something with himself then let out a short huff. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall beside the open window. "You remember that Rayja guy? That time I fought him, I guess you could say that Z gave me the power I was using. He taught me a Slayer spell that lets a Dragon Slayer take magic from other wizards."

"So that's where the magic part of the bond comes from," Erza concluded. "And I suppose the rest is self explanatory."

Natsu gave a somewhat crooked grin at that but made no comment.

Lucy sank down into one of the wooden chairs, her expression turning thoughtful. "That explains a lot. I did wonder how you always seemed to know where he was, how he was feeling and if he was awake or not. It wasn't just because of your Dragon Slayer senses. But then why haven't you been able to find him?"

And that was the big question, wasn't it?

They were taking all this rather well, Natsu reflected. Then again, he really had worried them, hadn't he? Now that some of his tension had eased, he felt a little guilty about that. Still, he'd never been one to operate on reason, and even if he had been, he didn't think he could reason away the unsettled foreboding in the back of his mind.

"I don't know," he admitted, his shoulders slumping just a little. "The connection's been really weak since we got back. Someone was blocking it back when we were on Tenrou Island. I'm starting to think that might have had something to do with the Dark Guild we were fighting. And then we got sealed away, and I think that broke the connection almost completely. And since I haven't seen him since the seal was released, it hasn't been able to fully recover."

Silence fell as they all considered this. It seemed as though there were still so many questions that could be asked except none of them were sure what those should be.

Finally, Erza spoke, stern and calm. "I know you're worried, Natsu, but you need to control your temper. You know that we'll help you find him. Fighting with everyone isn't going to help solve the problem. Now, tell us where you've looked already."

.

**Treasure **

Lucy wasn't surprised to open her apartment door and find Natsu seated at her kitchen table. Ever since she and the others had officially joined him in his search, it became routine for him to seek them out after missions.

"Any luck?"

With regret, Lucy shook her head, dropping her travel bag on the floor and taking a seat herself. "Unfortunately, no."

She winced at the disappointment that flashed across his face, but he quickly suppressed it. At least he wasn't grounded anymore. As soon as the first chance presented itself, he'd be off on a job request himself. When he was out searching, he found it easier to keep away some of his own restlessness.

"You okay?" Natsu asked in concern when Lucy stifled a yawn.

"I'm fine, just really worn out." She gave him a small, triumphant smile. "I can call two spirits at once now. It made the job a lot easier, but it's pretty exhausting."

"That's great."

The smile Natsu gave her was genuine, but she could tell he was still distracted. He almost always was these days.

"You love him, don't you?" Lucy said quietly. It was really more of a statement than a question.

Natsu blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

The Celestial Wizard shrugged, rising to make herself a cup of tea. "Oh, I don't know. It's just a feeling I guess."

She'd been thinking about it ever since their last team discussion. What had Porlyusica said? That dragons were fiercely protective of what they considered precious? What they considered theirs? The way she'd phrased it had gotten the wheels turning in Lucy's head.

The corners of her mouth turned upward in a faint smile when the Dragon Slayer snorted but didn't deny it. Natsu definitely wasn't the romantic type, but it was obvious how much he cared about the dark wizard. It was kind of sweet. Not the kind of relationship she might have dreamed of for herself, but Zeraf seemed fine with it. God knew it wasn't the first time it had occurred to her that the two seemed to fit together uncannily well. They shared a kind of understanding that she suspected only someone like Natsu could have achieved with someone like the Black Wizard Zeraf.

Perhaps she could base her next novel on them. She just hoped that their strange little fairytale would have a happy ending.

.

**News **

The guild house was abuzz with excited conversation when Natsu walked in that afternoon. He'd just returned from a mission and he was too annoyed and tired to pay attention to the talk.

At least that was until an all too familiar name came up in the conversation.

"They say that the Magic Council has captured the Black Wizard Zeraf."

Natsu stiffened in his chair, all his senses abruptly alert and focused. Further along the counter, Gray glanced sidelong at him, listening just as intently.

"No kidding? They're sure it's him?"

"Yeah. Apparently, he's been alive all this time."

"That's crazy. I mean, he'd be more than four hundred years old! And nobody noticed until now?"

"Actually, I heard that he still looks like a young man. Guess all that dark magic changes a person."

.

**Choice **

Natsu didn't curse or break the glass in his hand. Instead, he finished the drink in one gulp, set the empty glass down on the counter with a clink, and walked right back out of the guild house. All other voices fell on deaf ears.

The Magic Council had Zeraf.

His hands clenched and unclenched restlessly at his sides as he walked, his feet leading him back towards his apartment.

They wouldn't have him for long though, not if Natsu had anything to say about it. He was going to get him out of there.

He had to.

The Council would no doubt try to kill him And even though Natsu knew they wouldn't be able to, he was certain that they would try. With all the magical power they had at their disposal, Zeraf could be seriously hurt. Just the thought made his blood boil.

Technically, he had a choice to make. If he left now, trouble was bound to follow—for him and for the guild. The Council was always looking for excuses to try and get rid of them. Yet at the same time, it wasn't really a choice at all. It didn't matter what the consequences might be. His mind had already been made up.

.

**Friends **

It was past midnight when Natsu left his apartment and made his way through Magnolia. Almost everyone was asleep by that time and the streets were nearly deserted, which suited his purposes just fine. Natsu would go get Zeraf out of the Magic Council's prison all by himself. He didn't need or want anyone else's help.

Natsu's run slowed to a walk then a stop as he reached the city limits. He smelled several very familiar scents and he debated with himself whether he ought to go around them or confront them head on.

Well, avoiding confrontations had never been his style.

"You're late," Gray said, straightening from where he had been leaning against the wall. "So what took you so long?"

"Yeah, Natsu," Lucy piped up with a teasing smile. "It's not like you to be too cautious."

"Yeah, Natsu, not like you at all," Happy joined in, perching himself on Lucy's head.

"You guys..." A slow smile spread across the Dragon Slayer's face.

"Well, it's about time to go." Erza turned her back to them and began to move away. "If we're going to do this, we'd better do it quickly. I have it from a very reliable source that we might be running out of time."

.

**Seal **

By the time Zeraf realized that the weariness stealing over him was less than natural, it was too late for him to try and do anything about it. He had to give it to the Council. They had some very skilled wizards among them, maybe not all that powerful necessarily but skilled.

Captain Lorez watched the councilman direct some of the guards to retrieve the wizard from the cell, feeling strangely uncomfortable with the entire situation. He didn't quite dare voice it aloud, but this didn't feel right to him.

So maybe it was true that the Black Wizard was supposed to still be sealed away. It was definitely true that this wizard had been responsible for the creation of many terrible things in the past. But it seemed to the captain that it was also true that, as far as he knew, Zeraf hadn't done anything evil or even particularly bad in the last century at least. He'd done some digging on his own, and in fact, it seemed that Zeraf had been of quite some help to several people—mostly within the span of the past couple years.

The point was that it didn't feel _right_ to just lock him away like this for the rest of eternity.

Gathering his courage, Lorez coughed. "Sir, are you sure?"

"It has to be done," was the only reply he received, "for the good of everyone."

Everyone except the black-haired boy who was not really a boy at all.

Captain Lorez didn't know what to do, so he simply followed the group as they made their way to the chamber located at the heart of the prison where the spell would be cast. The guards dumped the unconscious wizard on the floor in the middle of the magic circle and hurried back out of the line of fire. The captain tensed, at war in his own mind as the numerous cloaked figures around the room began to chant. But just as the first runes flared into life, a tremor ran through the compound.

.

**Unexpected **

They'd entered the prison through a side gate, knocking out the sentries and stealing their keys. Unfortunately, it seemed the gates recognized when the keys weren't in the hands of authorized people, and so Natsu had resorted to opening the doors the way he knew best—by blasting through them. That meant they had a limited amount of time to finish what they had come here to do.

When the hallway branched then branched again, the wizards split up. Natsu rounded a corner only to come face to face with a man sprinting the other way. The man froze when he saw the intruder. Out of reflex, the man's hand flew to the hilt of his sword. He wore the uniform of a guard captain and magical runes could be seen sketched along the scabbard of his weapon.

"I'm here for a friend of mine," Natsu declared, lifting a hand and summoning his flames. "If you try to stop me, you'll be sorry. I'm not leaving without him."

The guard captain seemed to hesitate then asked, "Is your name Natsu?"

The Dragon Slayer paused, taken aback. "Yeah, and if it is?"

The tense silence stretched on for a second longer than the man let his hand drop back to his side and stepped aside. "If you're looking for the Black Wizard, he's in a room at the center of this compound. If you keep following this corridor then take the second left you come to, you should be able to find it easily."

Natsu stared, at a loss for words from the sudden and rather unexpected turn of events. "You—but—aren't you—why?"

"I suppose I'd like to believe in second chances." The man offered Natsu a tired smile. "He's been waiting for you."

.

**Reunion **

The Black Wizard hadn't changed at all. Just like Natsu, he looked exactly as he had seven years ago. Then again, he was immortal. He probably looked this way four hundred years ago too.

Natsu stepped over the broken lines of the magic circle carved into the stone and walked over to the wizard slumped upon the floor. Crouching, he brushed a few strands of dark hair out of the boy's face. His breathing was even and he appeared to be unharmed.

"Hey, Z, it's time to wake up. We're getting you out of here."

It took some effort, but he finally got the wizard to stir. Dark, slightly glazed eyes focused on him and their owner immediately tried to sit up.

"Natsu."

"It's good to see you too," Natsu said, sliding an arm around his back to help him to his feet. "I hope you're in a talkative mood. We've got seven years of catching up to do— well, on your end anyway."

"Halt!"

Natsu turned as a dozen guards ran into the room. Light glinted on armor and the weapons they leveled at them wreaked of magic.

"You are going against the express wishes of the Magic Council. Leave the demon and come quietly and we might be lenient."

"He's not a demon," Natsu snarled, already short temper flaring.

He saw something in the leading guard's eyes flicker and he spun around to catch someone else in the middle of casting a spell. He didn't know what kind of spell it was, but he didn't care. All he needed to know was that it was aimed at them, and the Dragon Slayer saw red.

.

**Teamwork **

They knew something had gone wrong when they heard the explosion.

An entire wall of the prison blew outward in a gout of flames so intense that the rock melted in places. Burning debris showered the ground.

Erza cursed under her breath, running towards the source of the commotion. "What is Natsu thinking?"

As it turned out, not very much. Or if he was thinking anything, it was how to obliterate these people who had dared to get between him and his bond mate. The frustration that had been building up behind his self restraint ever since they'd returned from their seven-year absence had erupted into fury, and the rage blocked out everything else, including his friends' calls and questions.

They were going to be in _extremely_ hot water with the Magic Council after this, but they didn't have the time to worry about that right now. First, they had to make sure there _was_ an "after". If this continued, there wouldn't be anything left of the prison or any of the people in it.

"Damn it," Gray swore, staggering to his feet after being thrown across the room so hard that he was sure he'd be hurting for days. "How can we get through to him?"

"Get everyone out of here," Zeraf said urgently, thinking fast. He'd shaken off the grogginess from the sleep spell in a hurry when everything around him had started to burn. "I'm going to try and cast a transportation spell. Perhaps if I can transport us to somewhere more isolated, it will be easier to calm him."

The other wizards didn't question him. With all that had happened, the Black Wizard felt practically like a part of their team.

"Be careful," Erza told him grimly, switching her armor into something that would be able to protect her from the maelstrom of flames around them.

Zeraf paused momentarily in surprise then nodded, turned, and ran straight into the fire. The heat beat against his skin but didn't burn him as he searched for the figure he knew had to be there somewhere at its center. Sure enough, he intercepted the Dragon Slayer just before he could burn a cowering guard to a crisp. Zeraf spared the poor man only a glance before catching Natsu's wrist and concentrating on getting them as far away from the Council's headquarters as possible. Thankfully, his magic responded as he needed it to, and the next thing he knew, the two of them were standing on a rocky plateau somewhere in the nearby mountains. Zeraf had only enough time to register that the plateau had nothing on it that would burn—or not easily at any rate—before Natsu twisted his arm in his grasp and caught the other's wrist in a bone-crushing grip.

Zeraf gasped in surprise when his back hit the ground. The Slayer's eyes were still bloody crimson. The expression in them seemed to have shifted slightly, but Zeraf didn't have the time to figure out what it was because fangs pierced his neck where the scar was and his mind was nearly swept away on a tidal wave of emotions.

.

**Instinct **

They were alone. The Dragon Slayer could neither sense nor smell anyone else around them, and so he focused all his attention on the dark-haired wizard before him.

_Mine_.

The coppery taste of blood temporarily shocked some sense back into him and he pulled away a little so he could look at the boy he had pinned underneath him, both of their breathing a little ragged. Their mental link had returned with a vengeance, loud and bright and still more than a bit unstable, flooding both their minds with a jumbled storm of emotions. Perhaps this wasn't the best place or the best time, but Natsu couldn't bring himself to move away. He wanted to do a lot of things at this moment, but getting off the dark wizard and letting him up most definitely wasn't one of them. Instead, he settled for leaning down to lick the blood from the fresh bite mark, somewhat apologetic about the pain but unrepentant.

"Natsu?"

The Dragon Slayer's eyes were still red and a tad crazed, but they were clear when they fixed upon his face.

"Yeah?"

Zeraf relaxed at the reply, more comfortable than anyone else would have been with the Slayer's rather dangerous form hovering over him. The predatory cast over Natsu's features and the feel of being so close to the Slayer again after such a long time apart sent a warm, pleasant tingle through his body. He could sense the Dragon Slayer's anxiety under his desire, but quite honestly, Zeraf didn't want him to pull away either. So maybe the way Natsu was looking at him right now was more than a little feral, but that was okay.

Natsu still had a tight grip on his wrists, so Zeraf shifted to lift his head the little bit it took to close the distance between them, letting their lips brush.

That was all the encouragement Natsu needed. Taking control of the kiss with a growl, he let the instincts he'd been struggling to keep at bay take over.

They had been separated for far too long. Now that Natsu had him back, he was never going to let him go.

.

**Trepidation **

Lucy groaned, covering her eyes with one arm as she fell back on the grass of the clearing. "We're going to be in so much trouble. Just once, why couldn't we _not_ destroy anything?"

"Hey, this is Natsu we're talking about."

"You're not exactly one to talk, Gray. Sometimes, I think I'm the only sane person on this team."

"At least we got everyone out of there safely," Erza stated, letting her sword dissolve in a wash of brilliant pink light before making herself comfortable against one of the trees surrounding their impromptu campsite. "I was expecting more casualties."

"I suppose that should help."

"In any case, Natsu caused so much chaos that I doubt many people could tell what exactly happened."

None of them asked if they had done the right thing. That had already been decided when they'd chosen to meet Natsu at the city gates—chosen to accompany him rather than try to stop him. Zeraf might not have been an official member of Fairy Tail, but by this point, he might as well have been.

"Do you think they're all right?" Lucy asked finally, her soft voice barely breaking the silence.

Gray snorted, folding his arms behind his head as he fell onto the grass beside her and directing his own gaze skyward. The night's events had left them all exhausted but still too high on adrenaline to sleep. "If anyone can get that hotheaded idiot to calm down, it'll be him."

In the mean time, all they could do was rest, recover, and wait for their missing companions to find their way back to them. Whatever the new day brought, they would face it together.

.

**Morning **

Natsu's mind surfaced from sleep to a haze of warmth and contentment. He buried his nose in his partner's unruly black hair, on the verge of dozing off again when the memories of the night before came rushing back to him. The slender body he had cradled to his chest was just as underdressed as he was, seeing as their clothes were currently serving as cushions and blankets. He wasn't really surprised. But now that his mind was clear of frustration, anger and desire, he couldn't help a pang of concern. He cracked one eye open, taking in their surroundings before turning his attention to the wizard in his arms who was also just beginning to stir.

"Hey."

Zeraf responded to his greeting with a mumble that might have been a "good morning" or simply a sound of acknowledgement.

Natsu shifted, pulling him closer before hesitantly asking, "Did I... hurt you?"

Zeraf would have laughed except that he'd pretty much forgotten how to over the years. Instead, he just offered a very small but genuine smile. "It would take a lot more than that to hurt me."

Natsu said nothing, tightening his arms around the slim body pressed against his chest and burying his nose in the nape of his neck. He couldn't seem to move away and didn't really want to. There was something intoxicating about the dark wizard's smell, the same smell he'd noticed before that made him feel both hungry and content at the same time. Truth be told, what he _really_ wanted to do was pin the dark-haired boy to the ground and take him again, but he shoved that thought firmly to the back of his mind.

"Much as I hate the thought of getting up, we'd better get back to the others before they start to worry. What happened at the prison anyway? It's all a bit blurry."

The corners of his companion's mouth pulled down into a slight frown. "You destroyed it. I'm afraid there will be trouble because of it."

The place hadn't quite been leveled, but it had been a close thing.

Natsu was silent for a long moment then let out a huff, the hot air fanning across the dark wizard's skin and making him shiver. "Everything will work out, you'll see. Besides, there was no way I was going to leave you there so there isn't much point in thinking about it."

"...Thank you, Natsu."

The Dragon Slayer sighed, closing his eyes to bask in the moment for just awhile longer. "Yeah, well, it was as much for me as it was for you."

And funnily enough, that made it mean all the more because it just went to show how important the dark wizard had become to him.

.

**Assistance **

"This is the last straw! Breaking into a high security prison—! Fairy Tail can't be allowed to just do whatever it pleases regardless of the law."

"But there's no solid proof that they were Fairy Tail wizards."

"Well, why don't we ask someone who was there?"

"Captain Lorez, you saw the intruders. Were they or were they not wizards from Fairy Tail?"

Lorez faced the council, his chin high and his stance firm. "No, sir, I don't believe that they were."

"Are you sure?"

The captain met their suspicious stares with an unwavering gaze. This was the least he could do.

"Yes, sir, I am."

.

**Aftermath**

In the end, despite the ruckus they had caused, the incident at the prison attracted very little notice. The Magic Council wasn't keen on letting it be known that a mere handful of wizards had successfully broken into and out of one of their most well guarded facilities, and for the most part, the details of the event were swept under the rug. Excuses were given, a few warnings issued, and that was that as far as the public knew.

Among other wizard circles, however, it was a different matter.

Makarov clasped his hands behind his back as he looked up at the four wizards currently occupying his office. They looked very much like they'd all just gotten out of a very long and very intense battle, which was fairly normal for this particular team. But with the news of what had happened at the Magic Council's prison last night, well, the old guild master wasn't a fool. His guild was home to some of the only wizards in the kingdom crazy enough to do what had been done last night and powerful enough to succeed. What he didn't quite know was why they had done it, although he was equally sure that they had a very good reason.

Unfortunately, it was a reason they all seemed unwilling to share.

"So none of you were anywhere near the prison yesterday?"

"Of course not. Why would we want to go there?"

"Yeah, gramps. As we said before, we just went out to get some training done."

"Got to keep improving, right?"

The old wizard held their gazes for awhile longer, but they stood firm and he was the one to finally look away with a sigh.

"All right. The Council isn't pressing charges and so I'm not going to insist on an explanation."

All four of them visibly relaxed.

"Even so, I want you all to keep it quiet for awhile. Take a few weeks off before going on another job."

"Of course, Master Makarov."

"Can do, gramps. Thanks!"

"We'll make sure to keep a low profile!"

Watching them go, Makarov added on a hunch, "Natsu, I trust you've sorted out your problems?"

The Dragon Slayer paused in the doorway to throw a fanged grin back over his shoulder. "Sure have, gramps. Everything's finally back to normal. No need to worry."

The door shut, leaving the room steeped in contemplative silence. Moving to the window, the guild master looked down towards the street before the guild house. Moments later, a familiar, wild-haired Dragon Slayer emerged into the sunlight and made a beeline for a patch of shadow beneath the awning of a nearby store. Makarov hadn't noticed the person standing there until Natsu threw an arm about his shoulders and proceeded to haul him away through the streets of Magnolia. He caught a glimpse of slightly disheveled, black hair and a faint smile, then the boy and Natsu were gone, lost amidst the crowd.

Interesting. So that was Zeraf, was it? Not quite what he'd expected of the notorious Black Wizard.

Making a thoughtful noise in his throat, the old guild master turned his back to the window. This was unexpected but not necessarily bad. He'd have to see how things played out.

* * *

**TBC... **

* * *

**. **


End file.
